Megan Carney readied herself for the whistle, waiting for a chance to tie the game at 10 apiece on a free-position opportunity. She shot high, and it was saved. The rebound came right back to her, but Stony Brook’s Kameron Halsall stopped that, too. 

On the ensuing counterattack, the Seawolves got a free-position chance of their own. SBU’s Jesse Arline deked once before putting it past Asa Goldstock for the goal. It extended the Seawolves lead to two, and the Orange could never recover. 

“Second half we didn’t really come out like we did in the first half,” Carney said, “We were just trying to run a different offense and it just wasn’t falling.”

No. 4 Syracuse (1-1) couldn’t regather after Arline’s goal, as No. 10 Stony Brook defeated the Orange, 17-16, in the Carrier Dome. Free-position goals got the Seawolves even from down 6-2, and quick goals in transition sparked a 7-0 run in the second half that put the game out of reach. 

Stony Brook controlled the opening draw and was content to pass, waiting to find a weakness. With 37 seconds left on the shot clock, a late rotation gave Taryn Ohlmiller a step on her defender. She darted from behind the net to her right, stopping briefly to shake her defender further before ripping a shot past Goldstock.

For the next 20 minutes, the Seawolves struggled to create similar opportunities. Redshirt junior Morgan Widner took over the draw control duties from Emily Hawryschuk, and Syracuse began to find success of their own.

“Morgan got hot and got some draws and we made a run,” head coach Gary Gait said. 

Draw controls led to offense behind the net and low blocks, where quick passes to midfielders cutting from the point either gave the Orange free-position opportunities or goals. Sierra Cockerille had two of them, Mary Rahal added two more, and the Orange eventually found themselves ahead 6-2 with 9:28 to play in the first half. 

Then Gait went back to Hawryschuk on the draw. Syracuse’s Grace Fahey controlled possession, and the Orange got the ball back down to the low block where they wanted it. But, Carney short-armed a pass back up to the point and it was intercepted. 

Stony Brook’s Ally Kennedy raced back down the field to draw a free-position chance of her own. Kennedy buried it, and the Seawolves had their first goal in over 15 minutes. By the end of the half, the Seawolves would convert two more free-position goals to tie the game at seven. 

Megan Carney attempted seven shots on Monday night, but couldn’t convert for a score. Eric Black | Senior Staff Writer

“We were winning our one-on-one matchups,” Stony Brook head coach Joe Spallina said. “So we were forcing them to slide and the timing of their slides was late on a couple, so it allowed us to get those fouls.”

In the second half, Stony Brook scored two quick goals, both in transition. First, it was Ohlmiller, doing it herself for her fifth goal of the contest. Then it was Arline, catching a feed from Kennedy to Goldstock’s right and finishing to make it 9-7.

Meaghan Tyrrell and Ella Simkins both scored for the Orange to tie the game up at nine, but a Hawryschuk turnover on SU’s next possession prevented it from retaking the lead.

That’s when the Seawolves’ 7-0 burst began. SU senior Vanessa Costantino bounced her free-position shot up into the shorts of SBU goalie Halsall. Carney was stuffed. Arline scored. Then, quick passing helped Stony Brook grow the lead further until it ballooned to 16-9. 

After Kailyn Hart’s behind-the-back shot in transition made the score 14-9, Gait benched Goldstock. The first shot she stopped tonight put her second all-time in SU’s record book with 476 saves. This shot past her caused Goldstock to throw her stick and gloves on the sideline in frustration. 

Junior Hannah Van Middelem took her place, only to allow two more goals in 70 seconds. Gait called for a timeout with 10:30 to play as red shirts erupted into cheers, both on the field and in the stands. 

Then Syracuse began to mount a comeback. Hawryschuk (6 goals) reestablished SU’s positioning on the low block, scoring three goals in three minutes. Junior Sam Swart mixed in a free-position goal, and SU cut the lead to 16-13 before Stony Brook was forced to use a timeout. This time, the Orange side celebrated. 

Stony Brook won the draw out of the break and later pushed the lead to four with 3:27 to play on another free-position goal. The Orange scored three-straight to get within one, but it proved to be too late.

“We really didn’t show up in the second half until that point,” Hawryschuk said. “Which is why we’re here now.” 

Stony Brook controlled the final draw with 1:08 to play. All the No. 4 Orange could do from then on was foul and watch.

Published on February 10, 2020 at 8:20 pm

Contact Tim: tnolan@syr.edu