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Stony Brook collected all seven possible first place votes in its first year in the CAA after appearing in the NCAA Quarterfinals for the fourth time in the last five tournaments. The Seawolves went 16-3 with all three setbacks to eventual Championship Weekend teams while going undefeated through America East play and earning an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament. Stony Brook earned five wins over ranked opponents during the 2022 campaign. Stony Brook enters the year at No. 6 in the IWLCA/ILWomen poll and No. 4 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine rankings, while three Seawolves – Masera, Kailyn Hart, and Clare Levy – were named to the preseason All-CAA team. Masera is coming off a season where she was the first underclassman in program history to earn First Team All-America honors and one of two underclassmen in the nation to earn the recognition. Her 87 points and 67 goals were both team-bests and she was top 25 in the nation in goals per game (17th) and points per game (25th). The 100 draw controls by the Long Island native marked the fifth time in program history that someone reached the triple-digit figure, joining two instances each from alumnae Keri McCarthy and Ally Kennedy. 2023 CAA Women’s Lacrosse Preseason PollSchool (1st) Points1. Stony Brook (7) 492. Towson (1) 433. Drexel 354. Hofstra 305. Delaware 256. Monmouth 217. Elon 138. William & Mary 82023 CAA Women’s Lacrosse Preseason All-Conference TeamName School Cl. Pos. HometownCaroline Brennan Monmouth So. A Downingtown, Pa.Kailyn Hart Stony Brook Sr. A North Babylon, N.Y.Delaney McDaniel Delaware So. A Severna Park, Md.Taylor Mennella Hofstra Sr. A Smithtown, N.Y.Corinne Bednarik Drexel Sr. M Glenmoore, Pa.Ellie Masera Stony Brook Jr. M Eastport, N.Y.Cassidy Orban Monmouth Gr. M Long Valley, N.J.Blair Pearre Towson Sr. M Pikesville, Md.Belle McHugh Drexel Sr. D Berwyn, Pa.Madison Hranicka Delaware Sr. D Mendham, N.J.Clare Levy Stony Brook Jr. D Rocky Point, N.Y.Jo Torres Towson Jr. GK Prince Frederick, Md. Preseason Player of the Year: Ellie Masera, Stony Brook Honorable Mention: Lindsay Clarke, A, Towson; Haley Dillon, D, Stony Brook; Bri Falco, D, Monmouth; Kailee Follette, D, Elon; Jackie Gatti, M, Hofstra; Jaden Hampel, A, Stony Brook; Caroline Hertzberg, D, William & Mary; Olivia Malamphy, D, Towson; Jess Smith, GK, Hofstra; Kerry Walser, A, Hofstra; Milana Zizakovic, M, Towson
First TeamM- Ellie Masera, Jr., Stony BrookThird TeamD- Clare Levy, Jr., Stony BrookHonorable MentionA- Kailyn Hart, Jr., Stony BrookD- Haley Dillon, Gr., Stony Brook
Over the past 11 seasons under head coach Joe Spallina, the Seawolves have gone 175-33. They are currently riding the longest active conference-game winning streak across all NCAA Division I sports.“With all due respect to the CAA, our goals are a little bit larger than just winning the conference,” Spallina said in an interview with The Statesman. “We talk about winning national championships and in order to do that, we have to take care of things along the way. Winning our conference is important because it supplies us with the automatic qualifier, but ultimately it’s about trying to be the number one team in the country.”“We need to be here,” Spallina said. “We haven’t had a quarterfinal in this building. We’re here in this stadium, so we have to try to get as many games in here as we can.”“There are some question marks in the goal,” Spallina said. “Duchnowski is a great goalie. We think she’s a total stud. We love her mentality and personality. Aaliyah Jones is another that will be pushing for that cage. Shanna Hecht, as well as Francesca Viteritti — it’s a great group. They push each other and get along great. A lot will be settled in the next couple of weeks.”“I couldn’t be anywhere close to where I am now without every player on offense and defense. If not for [Kailyn] Hart passing to me or anyone clearing through for me, this doesn’t happen.”“I want to better myself for everyone else,” Hampel said. “I’d like to be more of a leader, especially now that we are the [upperclassmen] and set the example for the freshman coming in.”“We’re expecting a lot from that class,” Spallina said. “We feel really good about them, but it’s also very difficult to break this lineup. There will be freshmen that will contribute and ones that we are counting on. This is a program; we don’t live in the transfer portal. We build our kids and develop our players out of high school, which is why we have been able to sustain a high level of lacrosse for so long.”“The expectation is to win a national championship,” Spallina said. “This is not a flash-in-a-pan program. My first couple of years here, it was about proving people wrong. Now, it’s more of securing where we are supposed to be and keep on climbing the ladder.”
The ladies had a great start with a beatdown of the Michigan Wolverines.How exciting to be Michigan in any sports. 17-10 FINAL!
4. Ellie Masera, M, Stony BrookMasera dominated as a sophomore in 2022, totaling 100 draw controls and 58 goals. She built on that with a powerful performance in the Seawolves’ season opener against Michigan last weekend, tallying four goals, one caused turnover, three ground balls and seven draw controls. Her efforts were key to a dominant 17-10 victory against a ranked opponent. The USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Midfielder of the Year, Masera should continue to turn heads.
No. 21 Yale at No. 5 Stony Brook, noon SaturdayBoth Yale and Stony Brook cruised to easy wins a week ago, although against different levels of teams. For Stony Brook, the Seawolves opened with a convincing win over No. 18 Michigan while the Bulldogs topped Vermont and Quinnipiac this past week with a combined score of 31-11. While in my opinion, the Seawolves would be a clear favorite in this matchup, Yale returns several starters from a year ago which could give them an added boost in confidence from their 2022 matchup against Stony Brook where they lost 14-10. Jenna Collignon leads the Bulldogs with eight goals, while Olivia Penoyer has played more of a quarterbacking role, registering two goals and six assists thus far. Taking down No. 5 Stony Brook will be quite a task, as the Seawolves looked quite strong in the season opener. Ellie Masera continues to be a huge factor in the midfield and in the battle for possession, while Jaden Hampel has exploded early on to lead the Seawolves with five goals.
Clare Levy is an All-American defender and a key to Stony Brook's zone defense.Stony Brook’s backer zone has become something of a contemporary legend in women’s lacrosse. The Seawolves are annually ranked in the top five nationally in scoring defense — often claiming the top spot, including last year when they allowed an average of 6.83 goals per game.The system emphasizes team defense over 1-v-1, and it’s clearly worked for Stony Brook, which has advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals four of the last five years.But there’s a caveat: It’s easier to get caught in shooting space.The shooting space rule is exclusive to women’s lacrosse and is designed to keep players safe while giving the offensive player a reasonable lane to shoot.The rule prohibits defenders from running into the shooting lane of an attacker. It’s a common foul and confusing for fans. But defenders in a zone need to be hyper-aware of shooting space.All-American defender Clare Levy offered these tips.CLOSE THE GAPApproach the nearest attacker before she gets the ball.“As you see a player pass the ball, approach the player it’s going to as it’s in the air,” Levy said. “Right as they catch it, the contact will be there, and you’ll be in a good position, They won’t have the space to dodge or fake.”LEAD WITH YOUR STICKApproach the attacker, not her lane. Let your stick lead the way.“Find the right diagonal angle to lean the stick,” Levy said. “Run at them and get the stick in front of them.”Allow your body to follow your stick at the angle so you are not running straight at the attacker but at a tangent.SELL ITSlides are one of the most common times to get caught in shooting space. That’s where the game gets cerebral, and defenders become salespeople to refs.“The best way to sell shooting space on a slide is to make sure you are out of the eight and making sure you are stepping to a player and not waiting for them to come to you,” Levy said. “It sells to the refs that you know what you are doing and are trying to play defense, not get the call.”PRACTICE BUILDS CONFIDENCELevy recommends setting up a cone every couple of yards to outline the diagonal run.“If you lead with the stick first and follow your body as you approach the cone, that’s great,” Levy said. “When your stick is first, you are taking away space for them to do anything. That is the best way to stop the player and avoid shooting space.”