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Cory VanGinhoven (40) joins teammates Anthony Palma and Dylan Pallonetti as America East weekly honorees.

A resounding start to the season has led to a clean sweep of the America East’s first weekly men’s lacrosse awards for 2021.

Cory VanGinhoven claimed Offensive Player of the Week, Anthony Palma Defensive Player of the Week and Dylan Pallonetti Rookie of the Week on Monday.

The weekly honor encompasses Stony Brook’s season-opening 20-8 win against Sacred Heart on Feb. 13 as well as this past Saturday’s 14-8 victory against Bryant.

VanGinhoven, a 6-foot, 175-pound attackman from Fort Mill, N.C., and a 2020 USILA All-American, had hat tricks in both victories. He added a team-high four assists in the season opener.

Palma, a 6-0, 175-pound goalie from East Islip, earned wins in his first two collegiate starts after succeeding Mike Bollinger, who graduated last year. Palma had a 7.82 GAA and .634 save percentage in the two victories. In the win against Bryant, he recorded a career-high 16 saves and contributed to holding the Bulldogs scoreless over the final 19 minutes, 11 seconds.

A local product from Ward Melville High School in Stony Brook, the 5-10, 185-pound Pallonetti set the program record for a collegiate debut with six goals against Sacred Heart. The redshirt freshman attackman, who transferred from Maryland, had seven goals and two assists spanning the two games.

Stony Brook (2-0) returns to action Feb. 27 at Hofstra.

Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

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Earlette Scott prepares to drive during Sunday's game against Maine. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook women’s basketball team honored McKenzie Bushee, Jonae Cox, Victoria Johnson, India Pagan and Hailey Zeise in a pregame Senior Day ceremony on Feb. 14. The Seawolves then surged to as much as a 16-point lead before halftime against Maine with first place at stake.

Ultimately, Maine rallied for a 54-49 victory at Island Federal Arena to split the weekend showdown.

The teams could very well meet again as the top two seeds in the America East Tournament, with a ticket to the NCAA Tournament on the line.

Employing a full-court press, Maine took its first lead, 43-41, with an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter that included three steals in a 38-second span. The lead eventually swelled to six points late.

Zeise’s three-pointer with 61 seconds remaining pulled Stony Brook within 52-49, but a late possession with a bid to tie went awry.

Pagan and Asiah Dingle scored in double-figures. Dingle also contributed five assists.

Maine improved to 12-2 in America East, while Stony Brook sits comfortably ahead of the rest of the field in second place at 9-3.

“I’m definitely disappointed with the outcome today,” coach Caroline McCombs said. “I thought we were playing some really good basketball early and then allowed Maine to get back in the game by capitalizing on our mistakes. We have to learn from it and move forward, which is what we will focus on.”

The team returns to action when they host UAlbany on Feb. 22 and 23, both at 2 p.m.

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Mouhamadou Gueye (#2) produced a career-high scoring output last Sunday against UMBC.

The Stony Brook men’s basketball team is now in the midst of crunch time as it aims to maximize its seeding in the America East Tournament.

Unfortunately for the Seawolves, they dropped the first of four straight games against the conference’s top placeholders, falling to UMBC, 71-65, on Feb. 7 at Island Federal Arena.

Stony Brook (8-9, 6-5 AE) slipped two games in the loss column behind UMBC (12-4, 8-3) and Vermont (7-3, 7-3) for the conference’s leading positions. The top two finishers earn byes into the America East semifinals, while the third and fourth seeds will host opening-round pods in the 10-team tourney.

UMBC shot 46.7 percent from three-point range before intermission (7-for-15) and built a 16-point advantage early in the second half.

“I think the experience factor was enormous,” Stony Brook coach Geno Ford said. “They came out at the start of the game, understood the intensity level when you’re playing for first place, and we played like an inexperienced bunch of new guys, who would like to win, but aren’t necessarily playing hard enough early.”

Mouhamadou Gueye paced Stony Brook with 17 points and eight blocks — both career highs, and the latter figure one shy of matching Jameel Warney’s program record, set in 2015 against Princeton. The scoring total supplanted a 16-point performance against Binghamton on Jan. 22, 2020 for his career high. Gueye now has 120 career blocks, matching Greg Angrum (1980-84) for fifth on the program’s all-time list.

Juan Felix Rodriguez (17 points) and Tykei Greene (11) also scored in double-figures.

A pair of free throws from Gueye and a driving layup from Rodriguez pulled the Seawolves within 49-45 and prompted a timeout from UMBC with 12 minutes remaining in the game. 

When play resumed, Jordan McKenzie produced a steal and Greene converted a driving layup at the other end to continue Stony Brook’s 16-2 run.

LJ Owens stopped UMBC’s hemorrhaging with a three-point play and the Retrievers managed to hold off Stony Brook the rest of the way.

“I’ll give our guys a lot of credit,” Ford said. “In the first half, I thought we played on our heels. And at halftime we really challenged them hard about their effort and energy level. And in the second half I thought we were fantastic. We played well enough to win for 20 minutes, but they played well enough to win for 40.”

The Seawolves played without leading perimeter threat Frankie Policelli.

Policelli, who is averaging 11.3 points per game and a team-leading .348 shooting percentage from three-point range, had aggravated a nagging hip issue late in in last Sunday’s 63-49 win against Hartford.

Still, Ford noted the Seawolves shot 13-for-34 inside the paint on Sunday.

“That is, to me, what sputtered the offense,” Ford said. “They pack the paint so hard that they force you to shoot threes. We have two or three guys out there that they’re just blatantly not guarding. They’re just standing in the lane, off of them.” 

Stony Brook and UMBC met again on Feb. 8 but the Seawolves fell again 60-48. The team heads to Vermont next weekend for a critical two-game showdown against the second-place Catamounts.

Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

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Tyler Stephenson-Moore sends through a dunk the first half of Sunday’s win against Hartford.

Frankie Policelli and the Stony Brook men’s basketball team awakened from a shooting funk at an opportune time.

Policelli drained a pair of three-pointers less than two minutes apart early in the second half to open a double-digit advantage and the Seawolves went on to a 63-49 win against Hartford on Jan. 31 at Island Federal Arena.

The teams split the weekend series.

Stony Brook (8-8, 6-4 AE) overcame early shooting woes and foul issues to take a four-point halftime lead. And when Policelli drained a three-pointer with 15:24 remaining in the second half, the Seawolves opened a 41-29 advantage. 

Another three-pointer from Policelli two minutes later upped the Seawolves’ lead to 14 points.

After Hartford clawed within 46-40 midway through the second half, Juan Felix Rodriguez answered with a three-pointer and Omar Habwe converted a jumper to reopen a double-digit advantage.

“I thought we defended at a high level, and we got separation in the second half because we made threes,” coach Geno Ford said. “We finally made some shots. It makes the offense look a whole lot better.”

The Seawolves had shot 17.1 percent (12-for-70) from three-point range over their previous three games, including 8-for-31 in a 59-57 loss to Hartford on Jan. 30.

Policelli, who reaggravated a recurring hip issue during the second half, finished with a team-high 16 points. He shot 4-for-5 from behind the arc on Sunday.

Leighton Elliott-Sewell added a career-high 13 points. He had accounted for only four points in Stony Brook’s six games since Dec. 28 entering Sunday.

“I was just getting the ball in spots where I could score,” Elliott-Sewell said.

Tavin Pierre Philippe logged a season-high 20 minutes.

“I thought our bench was great in the first half when we needed it,” Ford said. “I thought our starters looked a little lethargic. We were able to get some real lift off that bench.”

The Seawolves had dropped four straight meetings with Hartford, including last year’s America East semifinal.

“It really was a big motivation for the team,” said Mouhamadou Gueye, who finished with nine points and five rebounds. Stony Brook hosts UMBC for a pair of games next weekend.

“Here comes the best team in the league in my opinion,” Ford said, citing UMBC’s speed, athleticism and size.

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India Pagan shot 66.7 percent from the field and led the Seawolves in scoring both weekend games.

WEST HARTFORD, CT. — The Stony Brook women’s basketball team produced a sweeping success on Saturday, Jan. 30 and Sunday, Jan. 31. The Seawolves swept back-to-back games against host Hartford with a 62-49 win on Sunday.

India Pagan continued a big scoring weekend. She backed up an 18-point performance on Saturday with 19 points on Sunday. She combined to shoot 16-for-24 on the weekend. 

The Seawolves improved to 10-4 overall and 8-2 in America East and ran their winning streak to a season-high five straight games.

Stony Brook stands in second place, a game behind Maine.

Nairimar Vargas-Reyes grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to open a six-point lead in the second quarter. Asiah Dingle then produced a steal, which ultimately resulted in a layup from Pagan and 21-13 advantage. The Seawolves opened their first double-digit lead on a pair of free throws from Hailey Zeise with 3:42 remaining until halftime. Dingle contributed 12 points, four rebounds, six assists, five steals and a block.

“Back-to-back games on the road are definitely challenging,” coach Caroline McCombs said. “I was proud of our ability to lock in defensively when we were struggling to make jump shots. India really stepped up for us this weekend, and it was good to see her in that flow.”

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Coach Joe Spallina

The Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team began their quest for a national championship in earnest on Thursday.

The Seawolves held their first official practice of the spring semester inside the Stony Brook Indoor Training Complex.

Lofty expectations already have been heaped on the program.

Stony Brook enters the 2021 season ranked fifth in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Preseason Top 20 poll. And standout midfielder Ally Kennedy — the subject of soon-to-be aired features on Fox and ABC — landed on the cover of the January issue of US Lacrosse Magazine as the publication’s national Preseason Player of the Year.

“This is probably the realest year that it’s been to accomplish the dream of winning a national championship and getting to the Final Four — being the first Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team to do that,” Kennedy said. “I think it’s right at our fingertips this season.”
 
Kennedy highlights the deepest midfield of coach Joe Spallina‘s 10-season tenure at Stony Brook. That midfield group also includes USC graduate transfer and former Pac-12 first-team all-conference selection Kaeli Huff, 2019 first-team All-America East pick Siobhan Rafferty (who missed last season rehabbing an ACL tear after tallying 50 goals the previous year), Kira Accettella, Sarah Pulis, Charlotte Verhulst and freshman phenom Ellie Masera, who happens to be Huff’s cousin.

“What’s really cool about it is that everyone is constantly working and giving 110 percent,” Huff said. “It’s not like there’s a drop-off. Every single person is pushing each other and wants to get better.”

During Spallina’s now 10 seasons at the helm, Stony Brook has produced a 143-27 overall record, seven straight America East titles, and currently rides a 44-game winning streak against conference opponents.

Kennedy enters the season ranked second in program history in draw controls (242), fourth in goals (193), fifth in points (248), fifth in ground balls (133) and 10th in assists (55).

Fellow grad student Taryn Ohlmiller, an attacker, was ranked the No. 47 college lacrosse player, man or woman, by Inside Lacrosse in December. She ranks second in program history in career assists (138), third in points (305) and fifth in goals (167).

“Everybody really believes in this. We can make it to the national championship,” Huff said. “It’s really cool to have this common goal. Everybody has bought into that.”

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Jaden Sayles cruises in for a layup last Sunday in Newark.

NEWARK, N.J. — A day after coach Geno Ford lamented the Stony Brook men’s basketball team’s defensive execution, the Seawolves clamped down on Jan. 24.

Stony Brook rebounded from a defeat the previous day to beat host NJIT, 56-44.

The Seawolves held the Highlanders to 13 first-half points. It was the fewest points scored by a Seawolves opponent in a half since UMBC mustered only 10 in the second half of an 83-39 loss to Stony Brook on Feb. 19, 2013.

Juan Felix Rodriguez (16 points) and Frankie Policelli (11) each scored in double-figures in Sunday’s victory, while Mouhamadou Gueye contributed a career-high 14 of the Seawolves’ eyepopping 55 rebounds.

Stony Brook trailed 36-35 after a three-pointer from NJIT’s Miles Coleman with 10:58 remaining in the game. The Seawolves then answered with a 10-0 run that included three field goals from Rodriguez.

The Seawolves (7-7, 5-3) maintained the lead the rest of the way despite shooting 1-for-19 from three-point range for the game.

Stony Brook snapped a three-game conference losing streak to stay in the upper echelon of the conference.

“It was a grind,” Rodriguez said. “Coming from the two losses from the last weekend and the loss yesterday, we needed this win. We came in with the mentality to get that W.”

Said Ford: “As a staff I felt like we were playing for our lives today. Losing stinks.”

Stony Brook held NJIT leading scorer Zach Cooks to four points on 1-for-13 shooting from the field. The 55 rebounds marked the most since producing that same number against Farmingdale State on Nov. 11, 2019.

“I was super-pleased with our defensive effort, obviously, today,” Ford said. “I know they missed some shots. But clearly we did, too. We missed almost all of them.

“It’s the first game since we’ve returned (from a two-week COVID pause) that we mentally and physically competed at a high level. That looked like our team from four weeks ago. And not because we won. We could have lost, and I would have just said, ‘Well, we didn’t shoot it good.’ But, man, we did a look of good things. Anytime you out-rebound people like we did, you know guys are playing super hard.”

With America East shuffling schedules due to COVID-related pauses, Stony Brook now will host Hartford Jan. 30 and 31 at Island Federal Arena. Start time for both games is 2 p.m.

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Asiah Dingle (16 points) was one of three Seawolves in double-figures in scoring on Sunday.

The Stony Brook women’s basketball team produced its largest victory in 14 months on  Jan. 24.

The Seawolves defeated America East newcomer NJIT, 73-41, at Island Federal Arena to sweep the back-to-back games.

The 32-point margin of victory was Stony Brook’s largest since a 43-point win at Hofstra on Nov. 13, 2019.

Stony Brook improved to 8-4 overall and 6-2 in conference play.

Tied at 18 early in the second quarter, the Seawolves erupted with a 15-0 run that included four field goals from Asiah Dingle.

In all, Stony Brook outscored NJIT 27-4 in the second quarter. It marked the program’s largest margin outscoring an opponent in a period since the NCAA switched to quarters for the 2015-16 season. It also marked the largest scoring quarter by the Seawolves since posting 35 points in the fourth quarter against St. Francis Brooklyn in the 2019-20 season opener.

“We really talked about refocusing going into the second quarter,” coach Caroline McCombs said. “We keyed in on our defensive principles, and with that we were able to convert rebounds and turnovers into points.”

Dingle, India Pagan and Leighah-Amori Wool all scored in double-figures.

Wool, a transfer from Western Michigan, produced her first double-double with Stony Brook. She had four last season with the Broncos.

The Seawolves, who originally had been scheduled to face Vermont next weekend, instead will head to Hartford as America East juggles schedules to accommodate COVID-related pauses.

Vermont on Sunday announced its women’s basketball team would cancel the remainder of its season at the request of its players. The Catamounts had played only six of their 12 scheduled conference games to date.

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SBU Coach Chuck Priore on right. Photo by Jim Harrison/Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook football team is set to play an untraditional season this spring. And head coach Chuck Priore is bullish on the Seawolves’ potential during a six-game CAA schedule that begins in March.
 
“Overall, as a team, I’m excited,” Priore said on a kickoff CAA Football conference call on Wednesday.

The Seawolves, who begin official practices Feb. 5, return a dozen starters from a 2019 squad that produced its signature win against fifth-ranked Villanova.

That includes quarterback Tyquell Fields, running back Ty Son Lawton, center Anthony Catapano and right guard Kyle Nunez on the offensive side.

Fields engineered three game-winning or game-tying fourth-quarter drives last season en route to one of the best seasons from a quarterback in school history. He recorded a program single-season-record 2,809 yards of total offense. His 2,471 passing yards ranked second most, trailing only T.J. Moriarty (2,495 in 2004). Fields also tossed 16 touchdowns and rushed for four more. He accumulated 338 rushing yards.

“The interesting thing was he had the opportunity all spring and summer to study himself. He got drill work when he was home from our quarterback coach to do,” Priore said. “The biggest thing ended up becoming his accuracy — and his improvement in that [area of the] game. His play-action game was lights out for us, his ability to throw the ball up the field, yards per reception. But he needed to become more accurate. And I think those are the things we worked on. We saw great improvement.

“He’s been part of the team now as a starter. He’s captain. And he knows he has the fall [2021 season too], which he is coming back for us. It’s a win for all of us.”

Lawton earned Freshman All-American honors from Phil Steele in 2019 after tallying 648 yards and seven touchdowns on 152 carries.

Nunez already has been tabbed a second-team Preseason All-American from HERO Sports and Stats Perform as well as first-team Preseason All-CAA Football by Phil Steele.

Catapano has been selected a co-captain after seeing action in all 12 games and making nine starts in 2019.

On the other side of the ball, defensive linemen Casey Williams, Sam Kamara and Brandon Lopez all are returning starters as well as linebacker Reidgee Dimanche and defensive backs Augie Contressa, Justin Burns and TJ Morrison.

Morrison actually is moving to free safety to anchor the defense because Priore felt the squad had great depth at the corner position.

On special teams, Aussie punter Mitchell Wright returns as the first-stringer.
 
Kamara was granted an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA after suffering a season-ending injury five games into the 2019 schedule.

“We think he’s a next-level guy,” Priore said.

Kamara, Burns and Dimanche have been tabbed second-team Preseason All-CAA Football by Phil Steele.Contressa is first-team Preseason All-CAA Football by that same publication.

“Defensively we have six linebackers — two by transfer, two by freshmen getting older and two who were in the program last year,” Priore said. “We’re really excited about that position.”

The Seawolves also will be bolstered by tight end Tyler Devera (Maryland transfer) and wide receivers Hunter Hayek (Rutgers) and Malik Love (New Hampshire).

The season consists of six conference games, with the CAA split into North and South divisions.

“This has been a team that has attacked it with a passion for success,” Priore said. “I think it built great team morale when we got back here in the fall after being apart.”

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Ben Fero throws off the bullpen mound as pitching coach Tyler Kavanaugh monitors his session on Monday. Photo from SBU Athletics

Spring was in the air on Jan. 18 as the Stony Brook baseball team’s pitchers and catchers held their first official workout in preparation for the regular season.

And with temperatures in the mid-40s, the Seawolves were able to hold their workout outdoors at Joe Nathan Field rather than at one of the program’s indoor facilities.

Position players are due to begin formal practices Feb. 1.

It’s been 313 days since the Seawolves’ last game — a 4-2 victory against Merrimack last March 11. Stony Brook had been slated to begin America East play three days later with a doubleheader against Hartford.

“We felt like we were peaking at the right time heading into conference play,” coach Matt Senk said. “So we’re excited. We were the defending champs. So we’re looking forward to defending our championship and can’t wait to get started.”

Stony Brook did get in a relatively normal workout schedule this past fall, albeit without games against other teams.

And with the bulk of the seniors having returned for the 2020-21 academic year after gaining an extra year of eligibility — coupled with a new freshman class that was touted by Collegiate Baseball as among the best in the nation — the Seawolves figure to again make noise in 2021.

Stony Brook produced a .673 winning percentage in America East play during the decade of the 2010s (159-77-1).

In game-situation matchups in the fall, upperclassmen Brian Morrisey, Brian Herrmann, Jared Milch, Adam Erickson and Sam Turcotte combined to produce a 2.65 ERA with 52 strikeouts, 12 walks and a .198 opponent batting average in 51 innings.

Herrmann returns as a redshirt senior this season after missing last spring due to injury, while Morrisey and Milch are seniors and Erickson and Turcotte now are graduate students.

“Certainly what we bring back on the mound, I think, is going to be impactful,” Senk said. “… Those guys were strike-throwers, pounding the zone, and were really displaying some plus stuff — fastballs, breaking balls — and really challenging our hitters. All those things will lead to success for the team in the future.”

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