May 9, 2002

Stony Brook, N.Y. - NCAA Divison I Men's Lacrosse Championships; Stony Brook at No. 6 Cornell, Saturday, May 11, 2002 - noon at Brown University

Media: Television: carried live on FoxSports NY; Radio: WUSB 90.1; Internet: www.goseawolves.org or wusb.org

The Beast Of The East: Last week's win over Albany in the championship game gave Stony Brook its first America East title in its first season as a member of the conference. The Seawolves entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed but upset the No. 2 Hartford Hawks and the top-ranked Great Danes on the road to capture the championship.

First Things First: Stony Brook's invitation to the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament is the first NCAA appearance for any Stony Brook team since the move to the Division I level. The Seawolves had three other shots at it this year but lost all three title games in women's basketball, men's tennis and women's tennis.

The Series: The two teams have met only once prior to today's matchup. Cornell recorded a 12-5 win over Stony Brook on May 8, 1999.

Keys To The Game: * Defense- A matchup of two of the best defensive teams in the nation. The Cornell defense is tied for the top unit in the nation with Maryland, limiting opponents to 7.00 goals per game. SB ranks 10th, holding opponents to 7.94 goals per game. * Face-offs - SB ranks third in the nation in face-off winning percentage at a .621 clip while CU is 14th at .561.

Pall's Haul: For the second year in a row, Kevin Pall has been one of the best attackman in the nation. Last year, he captured the Division I scoring title and this season has totaled 48 goals -- two shy of his school record 50 that he set last season. He has scored in 45 of his last 46 games and has 12 multiple-goal games to his credit this year. The first-team all-conference pick is averaging 3.07 goals per game -- good enough for sixth in the nation. He ranks first all-time in goals (132) scored and fourth in points (143). His 48 goals ties him for the third highest total in the nation this year with Will Driscoll of Penn State and Steve Dusseau of Georgetown. He trails only Eugene Tanner of Manhattan (49) and Brian LaMastro of Hartford (50). On Monday night, Pall was voted as the Stony Brook University 2001-02 Male Athlete of the Year.

I'm Down With M.O.P.: Senior Denis Scannell scored twice in the America East Championship game and won eight of nine face-offs to propel the Seawolves to the title. His play earned him the America East Most Outstanding Player honor. Scannell has been on fire. He has now scored a point in 12 straight games, the longest streak of his career. In the last four games, he has totaled 11 points, an average of 2.8 points per game. This season has set new career-highs in goals (20), assists (10) and points (30) while ranking in the top 10 in the nation in ground balls per game and face-off winning percentage all season long.

He Is Worthy: Goalie Steve Armsworthy arguably turned in his two best games of the season during the America East tournament. Battling a torn meniscus in his right knee since the first game of season, Armsworthy has hit his stride late in the season. He made 14 stops against Hartford and outdueled Albany's Rookie of the Year Kevin Rae by making 13 saves in the America East Championship game.

Facing Off: Stony Brook entered the week as the third-best face-off team in the nation, winning 62 percent of its draws. It trails only Sacred Heart (.632) and VMI (.628). Dennis Nafte ranks third in Division I (.649).

Tris And That: Senior Tris Gillen scored the game-winner in the America East title game last week.

The Rookie: Freshman Steve Conlon has been a force for Stony Brook this season. He has set a new standard for rookies, totaling a program-best 41 points (22g, 19a) in 16 games. Conlon eclipsed the previous high of 34 that was set by Brian Reilly from 1984-87. Entering the season, Tony Cabrera had the best mark by a freshman at the Division I level with 29 points. Conlon just missed out on being voted the America East Rookie of the Year. He earned conference rookie of the week honors three times this season.

Stingy D: Cornell is giving up only seven goals per game on the strength of a powerful defense and outstanding goaltending from Justin Cynar. The Seawolves have also been tough in their own end, limiting opponents to only 7.94 goals per game. How good has the defense been? The 2002 season marked the first time in the program's history where it hasn't given up more than 11 goals in any game.

The Bash Brothers: The duo of Eric Hatkewitz and Kyle Pearl have been a big reason why the Seawolves are third in the nation in face-offs. Hat (75 gb) and Pearl (50 gb) have been groundball machines on draws this season. In addition, they have also gotten into the scoring act. Pearl (4g, 6a) has 10 points while Hatkewitz has totaled six points (4g, 2a) this season. Pearl's 10 points are the most by any long-stick middie or close defenseman in the school's Division I history. He ignited the offense last Saturday by assisting on Stony Brook's first goal, a man-down tally near the end of the first quarter.

Working Overtime: Stony Brook has played two overtime games this season - going 1-1 in those contests. The Seawolves fell to No. 14 Navy 11-10 in triple overtime and defeated Hartford Wednesday night 7-6 in the first overtime period.

Camping Out: Senior Matt Campolettano is another senior who is enjoying a career-best season. Campy has set new highs in goals (13) and points (17), eclipsing his old highs of nine and 13, respectively. He has also totaled 40 ground balls, far surpassing his previous high of 26 that he set as a sophomore.

Waiting 'til The Last Minute: Heading into the playoffs, Stony Brook will hope to improve upon finishing out each quarter. The Seawolves have given up 14 goals in the final minute of a quarter this season -- four have come in the final minute of regulation.

Double Digits: Reaching the 10-win plateau gave Stony Brook its first double-digit win season since 1990 when it won 12 games. The Seawolves are one of nine teams in Division I this season that have won 10 or more games.

Total Goals: Stony Brook has yielded 127 goals this season, an average of only 7.94 per game. That is the second-lowest goals per game average in the program's Division I history - in 1998, SB gave up only 7.83 goals per game. The stat marks a tremendous improvement from last season. The Seawolves gave up 148 goals in 14 games, an average of 10.57 per game in 2001.

Versus The Ivy League: Stony Brook is 3-12 all-time versus teams from the Ivy League. All three wins have come against Dartmouth.

Versus Ranked Teams: Stony Brook is 2-16 against teams ranked in the USILA Top 20 since 1997. The wins came against No. 17 Hartford in '97 and versus No. 16 UMBC last season. Should Stony Brook defeat No. 8 Cornell today it would mark the highest ranked opponent that SB has ever beaten -- the Seawolves have never defeated an opponent ranked in the Top 10.

Against Tourney Teams: Stony Brook is 1-2 against teams that will participate in this year's tournament -- falling to UMass 8-7 and Fairfield 10-9 but defeating Manhattan 15-8.

If It's Close: Four of Stony Brook's six losses have come by one goal -- two in the final minute of regulation and the other in triple overtime. Stony Brook is 3-4 in one-goal games this season.

Common Opponents: Stony Brook and Cornell have only one common opponent this season - UMBC. Cornell knocked off UMBC 16-4 while SB fell 11-3.

Injury Report: Senior A/M Jon Tompkins suffered a season-ending injury in the overtime loss to Navy with a torn ACL in his right knee. Phil Archabald has been out all season due to a broken foot.

Remembering Number 28: This season, the Seawolves are wearing a No. 28 sticker on their helmets in remembrance of former Stony Brook laxer Jon Ryan. Ryan played from 1987-90 as a close defenseman. The former team captain died in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center on September 11.

All-American Boys: Three Stony Brook laxers earned preseason honorable mention All-America honors by Face-Off Yearbook. Kevin Pall, Steve Armsworthy and Eric Hatkewitz became the first SB players in Division I history to earn preseason All-America honors.

Coming And Going: The 2002 Seawolves are a mixture of the old and the new. Of the 31 players on the team, 23 are either seniors or freshmen (13 seniors, 10 freshmen). There are only four juniors and four sophomores.

SB In The Postseason: Prior to last week, the Seawolves had made only three postseason appearances - all at the Division II level. They are now 3-2 in postseason play and a perfect 2-0 at the Division I level after a pair of wins in last week's America East tournament.

SB On TV: This is Stony Brook's first television appearance this season. Today's game will be televised on FoxSports NY.

By The Numbers: Stony Brook's record when At home 6-2 On the road 4-4 At night 2-1 During the day 8-5 When scoring nine goals or less 2-5 When scoring 10 goals or more 8-1 Scoring first 5-5 Not scoring first 5-1 Lead at half 4-1 Trail at half 3-4 Tied at half 3-1