Men's Lacrosse Survives Albany, 13-12

By Gregory Bernardi

Stony Brook men’s lacrosse defeated conference-rival Albany 13-12 Saturday in an exciting, physical matchup in which the two teams traded scoring runs back-and-forth until the final whistle. With the win, Stony Brook guaranteed that Wednesday’s conference tournament semifinal game will be played at home in LaValle Stadium, the first home playoff game ever for the Seawolves.

The win came after a tough loss to Hofstra on Tuesday, in which the Seawolves blew a two-goal lead in the fourth quarter. After the game, Stony Brook head coach Rick Sowell said he was excited for his team to play in front of its home fans, and stressed the importance of hosting a playoff game.

“You’ve got to think it’s going to be a great crowd,” said Sowell. “To have to go up to Albany … and play was tough. To have to go anywhere on the road and play is tough.”

Leading the way for Stony Brook was the trio of Robbie Campbell, Tom Compitello and Kevin Crowley, who each recorded three goals. Compitello and Campbell each added an assist.

The Seawolves’ starting goalkeeper, Charlie Paar, was out due to a knee injury he sustained during Tuesday’s game at Hofstra, but Rob Camposa came up big in replacing him, stopping 14 of the 26 shots he faced.

Camposa was glad he got the opportunity to help his team in a big game.

“I just wanted to come in and play my best because I know the guys work hard all year,” Camposa said. “I just wanted to beat Albany.”

Despite uncertainties at the goalkeeper position prior to the game, Sowell never doubted the junior two-year letter winner.

“I did not lose sleep thinking about Rob being our goalie,” said Sowell, noting that Camposa had faced Albany twice last season. “He’s been there, he’s old enough, a junior. He’s a good goalie.”

Camposa was strong early, saving the first four shots he faced until Albany’s Corey Small opened the scoring midway through the first quarter. Brian Caufield added a goal to make it 2-0 until Kyle Belton got Stony Brook on the board with just under five minutes to play in the opening period. Robbie Campbell scored for the Seawolves to tie the game at two, but with about 10 seconds left in the first, Robbie Campbell turned the ball over and Albany’s Joe Resetarits scored before the quarter ran out.

The teams traded goals for the next two quarters, and the game entered the final period with Stony Brook leading 7-5. The fourth quarter saw the scoreboard light up often, and both teams opened up their respective offenses and shot the ball on net.

“The first three quarters was almost like we were kind of sparring,” said Sowell. “Then the fourth quarter the gloves just came a-flying.”

Albany began the fourth quarter with a two-goal run to tie the score at seven. Then, with about nine minutes remaining in the quarter, Compitello faked a shot, spun around the defender and slipped the ball past John Carroll to give Stony Brook the lead, 8-7.

That began a four-goal run for the Seawolves, as they built a seemingly insurmountable lead. But Albany answered back with a three-goal rally of its own, and the difference was one goal with two-and-a-half minutes to play.

“Albany isn’t going to quit, we know that,” said Sowell. “I knew they had some fight in them. But we kind of withstood their late-round punches and countered with some key, key goals.”

The Seawolves, though, got two big goals from the second-leading scorer Crowley to go up by three with just two minutes left. Two more late goals from Albany’s Derek Kreuzer and Dave Brock brought the game yet again to a one-goal margin with 12 seconds left to play. Albany had a chance to tie the game, but Matthew Cushing lost the handle on the ball and time expired.

“We just hung in there and made the plays we needed to and got the job done this time,” said Sowell.