Stony Brook men’s lacrosse wins first CAA title, clinches NCAA berth

Stony Brook’s men’s lacrosse team turned a quick deficit into the biggest win in program history, rallying past top-seeded Towson 13-11 at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Maryland, to claim its first Coastal Athletic Association title and clinch an NCAA berth.

The Seawolves, the No. 3 seed in the CAA tournament, fell behind 2-0 early before answering with four straight goals to grab a 4-2 lead less than six minutes into the game. From there, Stony Brook controlled the first three quarters, built a five-goal cushion and held off a late Towson push in front of 1,279 spectators. The official box score showed Stony Brook outscoring Towson 6-3 in the first quarter, 2-2 in the second, 4-1 in the third and then surviving a 5-1 fourth-quarter charge from the Tigers.

Tommy Wilk anchored the win in net, stopping 17 shots and posting a .607 save percentage while earning Most Outstanding Player honors. Stony Brook finished with 48 shots to Towson’s 44, a sign of how relentlessly the Seawolves attacked a team that entered ranked No. 16 nationally and was chasing a third straight CAA title.

The result carried more weight than one trophy. It was Stony Brook’s first conference championship since winning the America East in 2012, its fourth overall, and its first victory over Towson since April 1, 2023. It also snapped Towson’s 25-game unbeaten streak against CAA opponents, a streak that had helped define the league race and made the Seawolves’ road win even more significant.

For Stony Brook University, the title changes the conversation around the program. A first CAA crown gives the Seawolves a new recruiting pitch, a stronger profile on Long Island and a championship marker that can resonate well beyond one spring. The school’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2012, and first as a CAA member, gave the men’s program a national stage at a moment when Stony Brook was already building momentum across campus athletics.

That momentum grew even larger the same day, when Stony Brook’s women’s lacrosse team also won a CAA title. Two conference championships and two NCAA bids on one weekend gave the university a rare spring sports showcase and put Suffolk County’s flagship athletic program squarely in the national tournament picture.