Stony Brook Men's Lacrosse Rallies Past Hofstra 12-7 in Battle of Long Island

Trailing 4-2 at halftime with their offense misfiring and their best scoring chances ending wide, the Stony Brook men's lacrosse team flipped the script in the second half of the Battle of Long Island, pouring in 10 unanswered goals across the third and fourth quarters to beat Hofstra 12-7 on March 13 at LaValle Stadium.

Gus Langtry and Joey DeYoung each had a pair of goals for the Pride, but Stony Brook rallied from a two-goal halftime deficit to defeat Hofstra on Friday night at LaValle Stadium. The win moved the Seawolves to 3-3 on the season; Hofstra fell to 2-4.

The first quarter was a back-and-forth opening. Hofstra struck first when attacker and midfielder Gus Langtry scored to give the Pride a 1-0 lead. Stony Brook answered 21 seconds later to tie the game, but the Pride tallied the next two goals in the span of 38 seconds to go in front 3-1 with 4:30 remaining in the opening quarter. Stony Brook answered late in the first quarter after Hofstra's Langtry was assessed a two-minute penalty. Taking advantage of the man-up opportunity, attacker Brendan Marino scored with an assist from midfielder Kian McCoy to cut the deficit to 3-2 heading into the second quarter. Hofstra added to its lead early in the second quarter when Joey DeYoung intercepted an errant clear and finished down low to make it 4-2. Stony Brook had chances to respond, including a late possession after a timeout with under 30 seconds remaining, but the shot went wide and the Pride carried the two-goal lead into halftime.

The second half was a different game entirely. Stony Brook broke its scoring drought with the first goal of the third quarter after Caleb Yeung caused a turnover, scooped up a ground ball, and fired in a goal in one fell swoop. Moments later, attacker Owen Donnellan found the back of the net to tie the game at 4-4. Stony Brook quickly seized momentum. Marino scored from directly in front of the net off an assist from attacker Justin Bonacci to give the Seawolves their first lead of the game at 5-4. The offense continued to click as attacker Collin Williamson forced the ball into the net to extend the advantage to 6-4.

Hofstra would close the gap to one on three separate occasions the remainder of the way, including at 8-7 in the fourth quarter, but were unable to get over the hump. The one-goal deficit would be as close as Hofstra would get for the rest of the game, as the Seawolves scored the next four goals to secure the 12-7 victory.

Sealing those final minutes required steady goaltending. Wilk stopped 13 shots in Stony Brook's CAA-opening victory over Hofstra. He added five ground balls and a caused turnover to secure a fourth straight win for the Seawolves. Meanwhile, Wilk delivered a series of impressive saves, stopping multiple point-blank attempts from Hofstra to keep the game within reach. His performance earned him his second CAA Defensive Player of the Week award.

The possession battle was decisive. Stony Brook won 17 of 21 faceoffs and collected 40 ground balls to Hofstra's 22. Four different players had three points on two goals and one assist for Stony Brook, with Caleb Yeung adding two ground balls and a caused turnover to lead the way.

Head coach Anthony Gilardi touched upon the Long Island rivalry in a post-game interview. "It definitely ups the intensity a notch," Gilardi said. "After our first goal we had a violation because our guys were celebrating on the field and gave them possession. But that's why you play — those are the games you live for."

Stony Brook continues conference action at home on Saturday, March 21 against the defending CAA champion Towson. The contest is set for a noon start at LaValle Stadium, streaming live on FloCollege.