Stony Brook claims Long Island Cup with win over LIU
Noah Armitage of Stony Brook celebrates his second goal of his hat trick during the Long Island Cup mens lacrosse tournament final against LIU at Hofstra University on Sunday, February 27, 2022. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
The road to collegiate lacrosse supremacy on Long Island runs through Stony Brook.
Just ask Noah Armitage.
"We want to be the best team on Long Island and you can see that we are," Armitage said after the Seawolves defeated LIU, 10-6, in the championship game of the Long Island Cup at James M. Shuart Stadium Sunday.
Armitage recorded a hat trick for the Seawolves, who improved to 4-0 this season with the win. Dylan Pallonetti scored twice and added three assists. Mike McCannell tallied two goals and an assist. Matt Anderson chipped in with two goals. Christian Lowd recorded a goal while Anthony Palma made 11 saves.
"Look at our box scores," Armitage said. "Everybody’s getting points."
Essentially, the outcome was decided in the first half. Stony Brook led 4-0 at the end of the first quarter, and 5-1 at halftime.
The Seawolves outshot the Sharks 23-14 in the opening half, including doubling up LIU in shots-on-goal at 12-6. Stony Brook finished the game having a 22-17 advantage in shots-on-goal, and attempted seven more shots than LIU (42-35).
Stony Brook's Noah Armitage gets double teamed as he takes his shot on goal during the Long Island Cup mens lacrosse tournament final against LIU at Hofstra University on Sunday, February 27, 2022. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
"I need to do a better job preparing our guys on offense," LIU coach Eric Wolf said.
Anderson opened the scoring 4:46 into the game with his 10th of the season. He was promptly followed by Pallonetti, who scored consecutive goals in a 42-second span, and Armitage capped Stony Brook’s first-quarter outburst with his first goal of the game with 4:34 remaining.
"I was really challenging the guys to come out fast," Seawolves coach Anthony Gilardi said. "I was really proud of the guys to do that."
LIU finally solved Palma when Blake Behlen scored his 10th goal of the season 5:56 into the second quarter, but the Seawolves regained their four-goal advantage when Armitage scored his second of the game with 5:01 remaining in the half.
Behlen and Sean Boll scored two goals apiece for LIU, which fell to 3-2. Thomas Von Bargen and James Butter each added a goal for the Sharks, who received a 12-save performance from Will Mark.
Stony Brook’s lead swelled to 6-1 on McCannell’s goal 1:03 into the third quarter.
Trailing by five, the Sharks made their first sustained push beginning with Von Bargen’s goal 4:46 following McCannell’s strike. After Armitage capped his hat trick with 5:01 left in the quarter, Behlen and Boll responded to cut the deficit to 7-4. But McCannell’s second of the quarter with three seconds remaining pushed the lead to four.
"We always believe we can make runs and go on runs and score goals," Wolf said. "It’s just that we really struggled to put the ball in the back of the net."
Stony Brook regained its five-goal lead on Anderson’s second of the game 6:07 into the fourth. The Sharks cut the deficit to 9-5 on Boll’s second with 2:35 left. Lowd pushed the lead to five with his first of the season with 1:19 left but Butler ended the scoring with his buzzer beater.
Hofstra tops St. John's
Hofstra beat St. John’s, 12-6, in the consolation game. The Pride improved to 3-2 while St. John’s (0-4) has lost 14 in a row dating back to last season.
