Stony Brook rallies but falls to Sacred Heart in season opener

This wasn’t the start to the season that the Stony Brook men’s lacrosse team envisioned, but as with any young team, the Seawolves flashed glimpses of what they can be when everything’s going right.

Defensive breakdowns allowed visiting Sacred Heart to jump out to a seven-goal lead early in the third quarter, but Stony Brook responded with a five-goal spurt to end the game.

The comeback wasn’t enough, as Stony Brook fell to Sacred Heart in both teams’ season openers, 11-9, in front of 785 fans at LaValle Stadium on Saturday.

“Nine goals in the first half, that’s quite a hole,” coach Jim Nagle said. “We definitely didn’t respond defensively. We had a great preseason defensively, but it’s just a funny thing. We did not play to our capabilities defensively, and I take responsibility for that, being unprepared.

“We played stronger in the second half and showed some resiliency. But we’re a young team, and these early season challenges are going to make us stronger.”

Sacred Heart won 14 of 23 faceoffs and won 19 ground balls compared to Stony Brook’s 12. Adjustments in those areas, Nagle said, could lead to more success.

Max Tuttle scored twice during a 5-0 run between the second and third quarters for Sacred Heart, and it was his third goal with 10:53 remaining in the third quarter that gave the Pioneers an 11-4 lead.

Sophomore attack Tom Haun ignited the Seawolves at the end of the third quarter, scoring once and then assisting Patrick Kaschalk. Haun then opened the fourth quarter with consecutive goals, the last of which cut the deficit to 11-8 with 10:57 remaining.

Chris Pickel scored three minutes later to make it 11-9, and although both teams had chances in the final seven-plus minutes, neither side could score. Still, Haun was happy with the way the offense responded.

“It just shows that we’re a young team, but we have a lot of skill, and when we’re playing confident, there’s really not many teams that can stop us defensively,” he said. “When we play confident, we’re going to score the ball.”

With only one senior starter in Kyle Abdellatif and five freshman getting playing time in the game, Nagle and the Seawolves expect growing pains. But freshman Ryan Erler impressed in the cage in his debut, making 13 saves and helping bail out a suspect defensive effort.

“We gave up nine goals in the first half, but if it wasn’t for Ryan, we probably would’ve given up 20,” Nagle said.

Erler, who played for Smithtown West and earned Newsday All-Long Island second team honors last spring, said his teammates helped get him in the right frame of mind.

“As a freshman starting my first college game, I was super nervous going in,” Erler said. “But a bunch of guys were telling me, ‘It’s going to be alright, you’re going to play fine.’ I just went in and did my thing.”