A high-stakes conference game saw the Stony Brook men’s soccer team fight an even first half against UMass Lowell. The Seawolves could not keep up when it mattered most and fell 2-1 on Saturday, Nov. 1, in Lowell, Massachusetts. Their record fell to 4-10-2 (1-5-0 AE), eliminating them from America East playoff contention.
A lopsided offensive performance saw the UMass Lowell River Hawks outshoot the Seawolves 21-9 and kick nine shots on goal to Stony Brook’s five. Freshman goalkeeper Edmond Kaiser saved three of UMass Lowell’s shots on goal in the first half, staying effective as he held the River Hawks scoreless throughout 45 minutes.
UMass Lowell broke through in the second half. The River Hawks took a nine-shot barrage at the beginning of the second half that resulted in goals in the 49th and 65th minutes, with the Seawolves lone goal coming from freshman defender Sebastian Rojek in the 71st minute. This would prove to be the nail in the coffin for both the game and Stony Brook’s playoff chances.
The Seawolves cannot clinch any better than seventh place in the America East, placing them just outside of the conference playoffs and mathematically eliminating them. While the Seawolves can technically tie sixth-place Binghamton if they were to lose and Stony Brook were to win their final game, the Bearcats won their head-to-head matchup with Stony Brook on Oct. 19, meaning that they own the tiebreaker.
This marks the first time the Stony Brook men’s soccer team have missed the America East playoffs since 2013 when they had a record of 6-10-1 and went 1-5-1 in conference play.
Stony Brook men’s soccer head coach Ryan Anatol is only one loss away from earning a .500 all-time record as the Seawolves head coach, at 62-61-22, which would make him the sixth head coach in the men’s soccer program’s history to have an all-time record of .500 or less.
The final game for the Stony Brook men’s soccer team comes as essentially a battle for last place in the America East. The UMBC Retrievers are winless in conference play with a 0-5-1 record and a 5-9-1 overall record, and the loser of the match will fall to eighth place in the America East. While not a high-stakes game, there is certainly something to play for moral-wise for Stony Brook. The Seawolves will travel to Retriever Park on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.
