Stony Brook women's lacrosse routs Stonehill in NCAA Tournament opener
Stony Brook celebrates its victory as time expires in the fourth quarter of a NCAA Division I first round women's lacrosse matchup against visiting Stonehill on Friday. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
There will not be a cram session.
Because, according to Stony Brook women’s lacrosse coach Joe Spallina, much of the studying had already been done well in advance.
“When the bracket came out, we prepared for three teams,” Spallina said after fifth-seeded Stony Brook routed Stonehill, 19-5, in the first round of the women's lacrosse NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. “It allowed us to kind of overlap game plans and to really focus on preparing for the winner of this game behind us.”
A few hours after Spallina spoke, he and his Seawolves learned they will hosts Boston College (9-7) Sunday at noon in a second-round game. The Eagles defeated Yale, 10-4, in the second game of the afternoon.
Kylee Colbert, of Glenwood Landing and the 2023 Newsday girls lacrosse Player of the Year at North Shore High School, led Boston College with a six-goal performance. And now, Colbert and her Eagles are tasked with trying to slow a Stony Brook (18-2) squad that has won 14-games in a row and, for the entirety of the season, is averaging 15.1 goals scored against 7.4 goals against.
“We can play against any defense,” said freshman attack Mirabella Altebrando, a Miller Place graduate who had three goals and two assists. “We play against one of the best defenses in the country every single day at practice and they make us better.”
Stonehill would attest.
Since Stony Brook made certain that the Skyhawks’ (13-7) NCAA Tournament debut would not be an especially lengthy excursion. By the end of the first quarter, the NEC champions trailed 9-0.
Altebrando, Julia Fusco, Jeilinne Bonilla, and Keira Martin all scored two goals in the opening 15 minutes for Stony Brook.
The Seawolves took a 1-0 lead 58 seconds into the contest on Haydin Eisfeld’s free-position goal. Six minutes and seven seconds later, Altebrando bounced her first goal of the quarter past Skyhawks netminder Nina Tremonte to expand Stony Brook’s advantage to 5-0.
“I think they were in shock in the first quarter,” Spallina said of Stonehill. “It’s a little different playing Stony Brook than it is playing Le Moyne. It’s Maseratis and Porsches versus a different kind of car, right?”
Bonilla finished with four goals. Eisfeld, Altebrando, and Fusco all had hat tricks. Martin and Katie Walsh added two goals apiece. The Seawolves ended the contest with a 49-20 shot advantage.
When Stony Brook was not strafing Tremonte, the Seawolves employed a defensive strategy akin to the trap in hockey. Routinely, Stony Brook defenders would funnel Stonehill attackers toward the sideline to create turnovers while limiting passing lanes. On the occasions that the Skyhawks were able to set up around the net, the Seawolves collapsed around junior goalkeeper Natalia Altebrando.
Altebrando, who is Mirabella's older sister, finished with three saves in two quarters-plus before giving way to Ava Yancey for the remainder of the game. Yancey made one save on five shots.
Taylor Green recorded a hat trick for Stonehill, while Sophia Gouveia and Emma Kail added a goal apiece.
