Goal in final minute pushes Stony Brook past Bryant

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Redshirt-freshman Jack Aigner (Brighton, Mich.) had a career day at the face-off X and freshman Luke Caracciolo (Centreville, Va.) posted another solid effort in goal, but a Stony Brook tally in the closing seconds pushed the Seawolves past the Bryant University men's lacrosse team, 9-8, Saturday afternoon at LaValle Stadium.

Aigner was 16-of-20 on face-offs and Caracciolo had 15 saves for the fourth time in his first five collegiate starts. Stony Brook scored the game-winning goal with 16 seconds to go after the Bulldogs bounced back from an 8-5 deficit.

GAME INFORMATION
Stony Brook 9, Bryant 8
Records: Bryant (2-4), Stony Brook (3-3)
Location: LaValle Stadium (Stony Brook, N.Y.)

COACH PRESSLER'S COMMENTS

"I'm disappointed with the result but couldn't be more pleased with our competitive spirit and the way we fought and battled today. We went on the road and gave a very good Stony Brook team everything they could handle. They made one more play at the end than we did. We got better today. It's tough to say when you lose, but overall we did get better, especially from the Manhattan and BU games.

"We did a great job facing off and a great job in the goal. I thought we defended them very well. I wish we could have gotten a little more on the offensive end, especially going 0-for-4 on the extra man. We'll take it, we got better, and now we move on to Fairfield."

KEY MOMENTS

• Bryant eliminated an 8-5 deficit to pull even with 9:25 remaining on a goal from sophomore Marc O'Rourke (Hingham, Mass.).
• Stony Brook scored the game-winning goal with 16 seconds to play on a ground ball and shot from Chris Pickel, Jr.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Bryant got on the board first with the first-career goal from redshirt-freshman Nick Beeson (Poway, Calif.) with 7:05 remaining in the first quarter.
• Stony Brook scored the next two to take a 2-1 lead through 15 minutes.
• The Bulldogs ran off three goals in 83 seconds midway through the second quarter with a spurt that began when senior Kevin Quigley (Fairfax Station, Va.) evened the game at two with 8:16 to go before halftime.
• O'Rourke and junior Trevor Weingarten (Allendale, N.J.) added goals to put Bryant ahead 4-2 with 6:53 on the clock in the second quarter.
• The Seawolves scored the next three to take a 5-4 lead into the locker room.
• Stony Brook added a man-up goal midway through the third quarter before a goal from redshirt-junior Jake Buonaiuto (Miller Place, N.Y.) cut the Seawolf lead to 6-5 with 6:54 remaining in the third quarter.
• The Seawolves answered with the next two before Beeson's second of the day made it 8-6 Stony Brook at the end of the third quarter.
• Junior Jameson Buttafuoco (Sandwich, Mass.), making his collegiate debut, scored his first career goal to bring Bryant within one with 10:25 to go in the contest.
• O'Rourke added his second of the day a minute later to even the game at eight.
• Stony Brook's Chris Pickel, Jr. scored the game-winning goal with 16 seconds to play, collecting the ground ball off Caracciolo's initial save and firing home the deciding tally.

STATS

• O'Rourke and Beeson scored two goals each to lead the Bryant offense while Balch added a goal and an assist.
• Aigner was a career-best 16-of-20 on face-offs.
• Caracciolo collected 15 saves.
• Shots were even at 38 for each team.
• Bryant held a 31-22 advantage in ground balls.

GAME NOTES

• Caracciolo has recorded 15 or more saves in four of his five games this season.
• Bryant drops to 2-3 all-time against Stony Brook.
• The Bulldogs have played three one-goal games in their last four contests.
• Bryant has held five of six opponents this season to single-digit goals.
• Buonaiuto, redshirt-sophomore Andre Gomez (Melville, N.Y.) and freshman Lucas Flynn (East Setauket, N.Y.) saw time for the Bulldogs in their first collegiate game on their native Long Island.
• Beeson and Buttafuoco became the fifth and sixth Bulldogs to score their first collegiate goals this season, joining Balch, Gomez, sophomore Pat Brosnan (South San Francisco, Calif.) and freshman Logan McGovern (Darien, Conn.).

UP NEXT
Bryant will play its second midweek contest of 2019 when the Bulldogs host Fairfield for a Tuesday matinee. Opening face-off at Beirne Stadium is slated for noon. Tickets are available by clicking HERE and the game can be seen on NEC Front Row with Mike Mancuso on the call.

Tickets for the 2019 campaign at Beirne Stadium are available by clicking HERE.

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