April 19, 2002

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Delaware (2-8) at Stony Brook (7-5) Game Notes

Last Time Out: Stony Brook lost its fourth one-goal game of the season at the hands of Fairfield on Wednesday. The Seawolves trailed 9-4 in the third quarter but reeled off five straight goals capped by Kevin Pall's third of the game to tie it at nine early in the final quarter. The Stags thwarted several chances by SB to take the lead and scored the game-winner with 42 seconds remaining.

About The Opponent: Delaware comes into the weekend having lost eight in a row to fall to 2-8. Attackman Ryan Metzbower leads the team in scoring with 18 goals and four assists while Andy Hipple is a close second with 19 points (12g, 7a). Dave Mullen has handled the bulk of the action in goal, posting a .519 save percentage.

The Series: Stony Brook and Delaware meet for the first time ever in today's matchup.

He's Back: After having his 40-game goal scoring streak snapped last Saturday against Albany, Kevin Pall bounced back to score three times in the Fairfield loss. It was his 11th multiple-goal game of the year. Pall is currently eighth in the nation in goals per game (3.18).

A Pearl In The Hat: How about Stony Brook's long-stick middies this season. The duo of Eric Hatkewitz and Kyle Pearl have been a big reason why the Seawolves lead the nation in face-offs. Hat (58 gb) and Pearl (39 gb) have been groundball machines on face-offs this season. In addition, they have also gotten into the scoring act. Pearl (4g, 5a) has nine points while Hatkewitz has totaled six points (4g, 2a) this season.

Non-Conference Games: Stony Brook finished up the America East schedule last Saturday with a 3-2 record. Its final two games of the regular season will be against non-conference foes Delaware and UMBC.

Once, Twice, Three Times . . . a Rookie of the Week selection. Freshman Steve Conlon exploded for a career-high six points in last Saturday's loss to Albany. He totaled a career-high four goals which helped him earn America East Rookie of the Week honors for the third time this season. He picked up right where he left off by notching a team-high four points (1g, 3a) in Wednesday's game against Fairfield.

Facing Off: Stony Brook entered the week as the top face-off team in the nation, winning 64.2 percent of its draws. Dennis Nafte ranks third (.643) while Denis Scannell is seventh (.607).

Close But . . . :Stony Brook has played six one-goal games this year - going 2-4 in those games.

Playoffs: Stony Brook will now await the results of the rest of America East action to see who it faces in the first round of the conference playoffs. The top four teams make the playoffs with the games being hosted by the highest seeds. The Seawolves will most likely have the third seed and play either Albany or Hartford in the first round.

Congrats Seniors: Thirteen seniors play their final regular season home games today at Seawolves Field. The Stony Brook Athletic Department would like to thank and wish the best of luck to the Stony Brook Lacrosse Class of 2002: Brian Abrams, Phil Archabald, Steve Armsworthy, Frank Barile, Matt Campolettano, Dan DaPonte, Mike Dworczyk, Tris Gillen, Kevin Pall, Mike Sakowich, Denis Scannell, James Smith, Jon Tompkins

News And Notes: At halftime, Stony Brook will honor the memory of former laxer Jon Ryan who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks . . . the Seawolves have won five straight at home and are 5-2 on the year at Seawolves Field . . . entering Saturday's game, Stony Brook is 80-49 at Seawolves Field in the program's 19-year history.