Seawolves Fans

IWLCA Announces 2022 Division I Women's All-American Teams
https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/college/women/iwlca-announces-2022-division-i-womens-all-american-teams

FIRST TEAM
M — Ellie Masera, Stony Brook

https://stonybrookathletics.com/news/2022/5/26/womens-lacrosse-sophomore-sensation-masera-selected-as-first-team-all-american.aspx

Breaking Down the Division I Women's Conference Landscape
https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/college/women/breaking-down-the-division-i-womens-conference-landscape

One of the teams replacing JMU in the CAA is Stony Brook, another power program looking for more while approaching the future the same as always. The Seawolves have dominated the America East, and although they might find similar success in the CAA, the competition will certainly be stiffer.

“It’s a new challenge. We needed to change,” Stony Brook coach Joe Spallina said. “It was time for us to refresh and go in a different direction. It’s not a secret, there are more CAA teams than America East teams in the NCAA tournament. We loved our time, but it’s time to raise the bar a little bit.”

One interesting question will be if the conference change coincides with a better postseason seeding than the Seawolves have experienced in the past. After all, JMU won the national title as a No. 3 seed — and as CAA champions. Spallina and the Seawolves, who are many times spurned come Selection Sunday, will take a wait-and-see approach.

“I don’t worry about it,” Spallina said. “It’s tough to trust what they do when they seed teams when there’s not a consistent criteria. … How many years in a row can we be under-seeded and outplay our seed before they seed us correctly? Look at the quarterfinals; the only close game was the 1-v-8 game [North Carolina-v-Stony Brook], and that’s supposed to be a blowout.”

How JMU and Stony Brook fare in their new homes will be must-follow storylines in 2023.



COLONIAL ATHLETIC
2023 Lineup: Delaware, Drexel, Elon, Hofstra, Monmouth, Stony Brook, Towson, William & Mary
In: Monmouth, Stony Brook
Out: James Madison

What it means: One national power replaces another in Stony Brook’s arrival and James Madison’s departure. The league also adds Monmouth for a compliment of eight squads in 2023. The CAA should be a two-bid league most seasons.

https://bronx.news12.com/usa-womens-lacrosse-team-practicing-in-stony-brook

https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/usa-insider/senior-women/long-time-coming-from-different-paths-us-women-reunite-at-stony-brook

Quote

Kylie Ohlmiller has completed the 35-minute drive from her home in Islip, N.Y. to Stony Brook more times than she can count.
 
However, something about Monday’s trip to her alma mater had her feeling nostalgic. As she guided her Jeep Compass down Route 495, she passed by the PAL Sports Complex, where her Yellow Jackets club team once practiced. Ohlmiller built a foundation for her lacrosse career on those fields, which are still home to the Yellow Jackets.
 
“I passed by that and it hit me, I was like ‘Oh my god. Twelve or 13-year-old me used to go to practice and have these dreams of playing at the highest level,’” she said. “Then, I got to go down the road and play here at Stony Brook, which was a dream of itself. Now, it’s next level.”

Ohlmiller is one of two Stony Brook players on the U.S. roster, joining Ally Kennedy.

As a teenager, Kennedy starred at North Babylon and watched her sister play at Stony Brook. Her hometown wasn’t as much of a breeding ground for lacrosse talent — until the Kennedys came along.
 
Just two years after her Seawolves career ended, she was back at LaValle Stadium as a member of the national team. A dream fulfilled, indeed.

I would love to see Ohllmiller become the assistant coach for Joe Spalinna. I'd imagine Joe won't be the coach for SBU forever!

Meet the 18 Members of the U.S. Women's National Team
https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/usa-insider/senior-women/meet-the-18-members-of-the-us-womens-national-team

ALLY KENNEDY
Remember when Stony Brook was supposed to recede after Kylie Ohlmiller and Courtney Murphy graduated? Yeah, that didn’t happen. Kennedy put the Seawolves on her back. “She’s like a pit bull,” Levy said. “Fast, shifty, tough. If we want to double-team in the middle of the field or off draws, she just picks up the ground balls. And she's an incredibly explosive player offensively.” In a testament to the numerous ways in which she can contribute, Kennedy ranks in the top 10 all-time at Stony Brook for goals, assists, points, ground balls, draw controls and caused turnovers.

KYLIE OHLMILLER
For her part, Ohlmiller saw plenty of zone sets from her own defense at Stony Brook. The all-time leading scorer in NCAA history (498 points), she’s the only pure lefty on attack, though Treanor operates seamlessly on that side as well. Ohlmiller said the Athletes Unlimited experience helped her learn how to play with different attack mates, including those with whom she will suit up in Towson.

5 Takeaways from the U.S. Women's 15-8 Win Over Athletes Unlimited
https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/usa-insider/senior-women/5-takeaways-from-the-us-womens-15-8-win-over-athletes-unlimited

The 2,250 fans got what they came to see. Former Stony Brook stars Ally Kennedy and Kylie Ohlmiller scored for old time’s sake, and Charlotte North was, well, Charlotte North.

U.S. Women's Sixes: Swart's Two-Sport Year, Petty on Building a Team
https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/usa-insider/sixes/us-womens-sixes-swarts-two-sport-year-petty-on-building-a-team

MASERA READY TO COMPETE
Ellie Masera admits she hasn’t traveled too far away from the Eastern Seaboard and her hometown of Eastport, N.Y.

The sophomore who plays close to home at Stony Brook will venture out next month for the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama. Fresh off scoring 67 goals and dishing out 20 assists for the Seawolves, Masera was added to the 12-player roster for the U.S. women’s Sixes team.

“It’s such an honor to play with such talented girls,” Masera said. “I got the call and I was grateful because I’m really close with a lot of these girls. Sixes is such a middie game and half our team is middies, so it’s nice to go up and down. The fast breaks are so awesome and fun to watch.”

Just shy of her 20th birthday, Masera is already getting a chance to play for a gold medal with a U.S. national team. She has a rare opportunity, but she also has an eye for the bigger picture.

“To be in [Alabama] together and win gold would be amazing,” she said. “Winning gold would mean so much in future years, because we’re hoping to get into the Olympics with Sixes. There’s a bigger goal of growing the game.”

Kennedy, Ohlmiller Rep Long Island in U.S. Rout of Scotland
https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/usa-insider/senior-women/kennedy-ohlmiller-rep-long-island-in-us-rout-of-scotland

TOWSON, Md. — It was a sight that any Long Island lacrosse fan who watched Kylie Ohlmiller during her historic career at Stony Brook was quite familiar with.

Ohlmiller streaked through the Scotland defense Friday night at Johnny Unitas Stadium, cutting in from the right wing toward the middle. From goal line extended, Sam Apuzzo fed and hit Ohlmiller in stride.

What happened next is what earned the title of “BTB Queen” on the U.S. women’s national team Twitter account. Ohlmiller received the pass at her body, took a few steps and left the ground off her left foot. She whipped the head of her stick over her left shoulder and behind her head as she soared through the air from right to left, perfectly tucking the ball over the left shoulder of Scotland’s goalie.

Ohlmiller scored three times, as did her Stony Brook counterpart Ally Kennedy, in a 20-1 win for the U.S. in the second game of Pool A play. Now 2-0, the U.S. plays Australia on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.

“I keep saying the word ‘surreal,’ but it’s really cool,” Ohlmiller said. “We’ve both played in this stadium before, but it’s nothing like this. Getting to just be here and wearing this jersey, surrounded by this group and knowing that it took at least five years to get here, it’s really cool.”

Ohlmiller helped lift Stony Brook to national prominence during her career with the Seawolves from 2015-18, and Kennedy (2017-21) helped sustain it after she left. With their college head coach Joe Spallina as a sideline as an assistant for the U.S. team, they showed that coming from small towns on Long Island and playing for a mid-major can lead to the sport’s biggest stage.

It wasn’t too long ago that Kennedy was a dreamer, standing in the same shoes as the young girls who now fawn over their heroes on the national team.

“It’s amazing that these girls know my name,” Kennedy said. “They know what I look like. They know all of us. They know our stat lines and where we’re from. They wear our jerseys. Being able to be the idols for them is something that will problem sink in in 10 years.”

Kennedy scored twice in the first half — both on free position chances — and Ohlmiller did all of her damage in the second quarter. She scored three straight U.S. tallies, taking a 9-1 lead and making it 12-1 in the span of six-plus minutes.

Kennedy added her third with 7:19 left in the third quarter off a feed from Kayla Treanor, making the score 17-1.

Even in a lopsided affair, the cheers grew louder during the night hours. Originally scheduled for 8 p.m., weather pushed the start time to 9:30. The delay did little to effect the size of the crowd — a sign of the game’s growth and the steadfast support of the team.

“We’re surrounded by women who have done that at all of their respective programs,” Ohlmiller said of how the U.S. team is helping to elevate women’s lacrosse. “They’ve raised the bar with the people around them. When we get to come together as one, it’s just this work of art.”

The difference is that many of Ohlmiller and Kennedy’s peers come from traditional NCAA powerhouses like Maryland and North Carolina. Not them. They’re repping Long Island.

“Just representing the program we came from, that means a lot to us,” Ohlmiller said.

Ohlmiller leaves the ground to score on a BTB in a 20-1 win over Scotland.