April 5, 2008

Box Score

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook's men's lacrosse team came up with its first America East win of the season this afternoon, building a 10-goal lead and then holding off a determined Vermont squad, 13-9. Freshman Jordan McBride (New Westminster, British Columbia) scored three goals to lead the Seawolves, who handed the Catamounts their first conference loss of the season.

"It was good to get that first conference win," said Stony Brook head coach Rick Sowell. "I am a little disappointed that we did not finish the game off a little better, but you have to give Vermont credit. They hung in there and battled back. But overall it was a good win for us."

After senior Bobby Trenkle (Commack, N.Y.) scored the first goal of the game on the first possession for Stony Brook (5-4, 1-1 AE), Vermont came back with a pair of goals to take a 2-1 lead after Derek Lichtfuss scored the first of his four goals of the day at the 7:10 mark of the first quarter.

Senior Ryan Hughes (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) tied the game a minute later and it was all Stony Brook after that. The Seawolves put in four more scores before the end of the quarter; all from different players as it built a 6-2 lead. Vermont (3-8, 1-1 AE) broke the SBU goal scoring streak with a Liam Thomas score midway through the second, but Stony Brook's offense kept rolling. Senior Michal Trojanowski (Hicksville, N.Y.) started a three-goal spurt in a span of 38 seconds that put the Seawolves in control at the half, 9-3.

Stony Brook kept its offense in high gear early in the third quarter, scoring four times in the first four minutes, with two of those coming from McBride. When freshman Kevin Crowley (New Westminster, British Columbia) scored off an assist from senior Rhys Duch (Victoria, British Columbia) at the 11:04 mark, the Seawolves had built a 13-3 advantage.

Vermont then staged its comeback attempt, starting with two Lichtfuss goals in the third quarter that broke the 7-0 Stony Brook run. The Catamounts then held the Seawolves to just one shot in the fourth while scoring four times over the first nine minutes of the quarter, closing the gap to four goals when Lichtfuss scored with 6:15 left to make it 13-9.

That would end all the scoring, however, and Stony Brook went on to take its first America East victory of the year.

Crowley added a pair of goals and four assists for Stony Brook to lead the team with six points. Duch matched Crowley with four assists, adding a goal for five points. Freshman Adam Rand (Niantic, Conn.) had a strong game for the Seawolves, winning 14-of-21 face-offs and picking up seven ground balls. Lichtfuss added an assist to his totals to lead Vermont with five points.

Stony Brook will play at home again next week when it host America East opponent Hartford in LaValle Stadium on Saturday, April 12 at 7:00 p.m.