Despite a strong start for the Stony Brook men’s lacrosse team, the Fairfield Stags narrowly defeated the Seawolves 18-16 to give Stony Brook its first loss of the season.
“Lacrosse is a game of runs,” head coach Anthony Gilardi said in a press release. “That’s what makes it exciting. When you’re on a run, you’ve got to take as much as you can get when you can get it. And then, when the other team is going on a run, you’ve got to stop it. You’ve got to stop it with being disciplined in the face-off X, being disciplined on offense, being disciplined on defense. And then you go on another run.”
Sophomore midfielder Caleb Pearson started the scoring 59 seconds in to give Stony Brook the 1-0 lead. A barrage of shots from junior midfielder Patrick Kaschalk, sophomore midfielder Matt Anderson and redshirt-junior midfielder Wayne White brought the Seawolves to a 4-0 advantage. Pearson finished the run with a top-shelf snipe past Fairfield sophomore goalkeeper James Corasaniti, giving them a 5-0 lead with 5:55 left in the first quarter.
Fairfield was not content on letting Stony Brook have all of the fun. Senior attacker Dylan Beckwith rushed past Stony Brook’s defense and beat sophomore goalkeeper Anthony Palma for the Stags’ first goal of the game. Two man-up goals by Fairfield junior midfielder Taylor Strough and Beckwith cut the deficit to 5-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Stony Brook senior attacker Tom Haun and Beckwith led the scoring, both recording hat tricks. Haun finished the day with three goals while Beckwith finished with five. Stony Brook and Fairfield continued their back and forth towards the end of the second quarter, leaving the score 9-7 in favor of the Seawolves.
The momentum Stony Brook had in the first half faded away in the third quarter. Fairfield opened their scoring barrage as Strough and freshman midfielder Trent Moran registered their own hat trick, plus two more goals from Strough. Freshman midfielder Bryce Ford joined in the scoring to give Fairfield a 7-0 run. Stony Brook was shut out in the third quarter, leaving them trailing 14-9.
The Seawolves wouldn’t go down without a fight, exchanging goals to start the quarter. Stony Brook went on a 4-minute 4-0 run with a goal from junior midfielder Mike McCannell, two goals from senior attacker Cory VanGinhoven, and one from senior attacker Chris Pickel Jr. The Stags responded with two goals from junior midfielder Frankie Labetti and Ford.
Stony Brook clawed back with two goals from Pearson, giving him a hat trick to go alongside Haun, but it wasn’t enough.
The Seawolves return home to Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Feb. 22, 2020 to battle the Brown Bears at 1 p.m.
