Stony Brook earns NCAA Tournament berth with 11-7 win
One can imagine both Stony Brook coach Rick Sowell and goalie Charlie Paar muttering the same two words with 9:13 to play in the second period of yesterday's America East Conference men's lacrosse championship game - the first of those words being "Oh."
"Something like that," said Sowell, giving Paar the mock evil eye.
From the safety of their postgame celebration - after Stony Brook beat Albany, 11-7, to secure an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament and Paar was named the game's most outstanding player, having tied his career high with 18 saves - Paar's one awkward moment could be the object of some good-natured teasing.
At the time, though, the incident was grist for alarmists: Might it turn what appeared to be a runaway victory for Stony Brook (12-3) into a shocking upset by Albany (5-11)?
Helped by Paar's first-rate play, Stony Brook took a 6-0 lead early in the second period, stretching its scoreless streak against Albany to nearly 79 minutes, including an improbable 15-0 pounding two weeks ago. Then, within moments, "we kind of breathed new life into them," Sowell said.
Dwayne Stewart, a freshman midfielder from Copiague, finally beat Paar with 11:09 left in the second period. About two minutes later, Paar was jogging 5 yards out of his crease when Albany's Dave Brock snatched the ball out of the goalie's butterfly net and sprinted toward the open cage for an easy goal. "I tried to chase him," Paar said, "but I'm not very fast."
Stony Brook's lead suddenly was down to 6-2, and the two teams commenced fighting, hammer and tongs, the rest of the way. Firing a total of 53 shots - many of them wildly - Albany outscored Stony Brook 5-2 in the next 26:22 to move within 8-7 with 12:51 to play. "We turned it over, turned it over," Sowell said. "We were playing a lot of defense. A lot of defense."
What ultimately saved Stony Brook was what has been saving the team all season: The sniper-like scoring of junior Jordan McBride, whose two goals gave him 48 this season and a school-record career total of 134; the sneaky wrap-around attacks by Tom Compitello, a junior from Hauppauge whose second goal finally snuffed the visitors' threat after Albany pulled within 8-7; junior midfielder Kevin Crowley's offensive punch, with three more goals to give him 46; Paar's goalie skill, and gritty work all over the field.
The 16-team NCAA bracket will be announced tonight, with the possibility that Stony Brook - on an eight-game winning streak and ranked sixth in the nation - will get a first-round home game Saturday. Sowell wouldn't argue whether Stony Brook deserves that.
"The eye test," he said. "People see us play, they know we're a good team. Maybe our schedule - some teams we've beaten didn't have the strongest record and that doesn't give us something to sink our teeth in, so if we get the home game, it would be nice and we'll take it. But we're ready to go on the road and play anybody."
Already certain is that Stony Brook's LaValle Stadium will host an NCAA quarterfinal doubleheader May 23, whether or not Sowell's lads still are alive in the tournament. Two words for that: Oh, boy.
