Senior midfielder Tris Gillen scored the go-ahead goal with eight minutes and 35 seconds remaining, as Stony Brook captured the America East Championship with an 8-6 victory over Albany on Saturday afternoon at Varsity Field. The Seawolves earned their first-ever NCAA Championship berth with the conference’s automatic bid and await Sunday night's selections and seedings.
Albany, the America East regular-season titleholder which finished with a 9-7 record, took a 6-5 lead early in the fourth quarter, when junior attacker Chris Driscoll converted a man-advantage situation off a feed from Luke Daquino.
Stony Brook (10-6) drew even as senior midfielder Denis Scannell, the championship’s Most Outstanding Player, scored his second goal of the game, a blast inside the left post with 9:10 left in the contest. The Seawolves took the lead 35 seconds later, when Gillen drove from behind the cage and slid an underhanded shot past Albany goalkeeper Kevin Rae, who made 13 saves.
The Seawolves, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, but preseason favorite to win the conference crown, added an insurance goal with 4:37 to play. Kevin Pall tallied his 48th goal of the season, when he scored in transition from Steve Conlon on a play that originated off an offensive turnover.
Stony Brook, which has reached double-figure victories for the first time since 1990, erased an early 2-0 deficit with a four-goal second quarter. Scannell gave his team the lead with a driving shot from the right side, before George LaFlare spun to his left and bounced a shot into the net for a 5 3 advantage.
Albany’s Daquino, who scored three times and added one assist, sliced the gap to one goal with 44 seconds left before halftime. Michael Solazzo and Driscoll each had one goal and one assist for the Great Danes, who made a dramatic turnaround from last year’s 3-8 campaign.
Scannell was joined on the all-championship team by teammates Pall and Armsworthy, who made 13 saves; Daquino, Rae and Alan Beach of Albany; Brian LaMastro and Rorke Greene of Hartford; and Mike Baglio and Joe Baglio of Quinnipiac.
Game summary - Men’s Lacrosse
No. 3 Stony Brook at No. 1 Albany - May 4, 2002 - Varsity Field, Albany, N.Y.
Stony Brook 1-4-0-3--8
Albany 2-2-1-1--6
Scoring:
Stony Brook - Denis Scannell 2-0, Steve Conlon 1-1, Kevin Pall 1-0, George LaFlare 1-0, Michael Dworczyk 1-0, Matt Campolettano 1-0, Tris Gillen 1-0, Kyle Pearl 0-1, Dan DaPonte 0-1
Albany- Luke Daquino 3-1, Michael Solazzo 1-1, Chris Driscoll 1-1, Brendan Russell 1-0, Tim Primrose 0-1
Saves:
Stony Brook - Steve Armsworthy (60:00, 13 saves, 6 GA)
Albany - Kevin Rae (60:00, 13 saves, 8 GA)