Seawolves Fans

The Pipeline: On Canada Day, Stony Brook Men's Lax Celebrates Contribution from North of Border
https://stonybrookathletics.com/news/2020/7/1/mens-lacrosse-the-pipeline-on-canada-day-stony-brook-mens-lax-celebrates-contribution-from-north-of-border.aspx

STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Kevin Crowley became aware of Stony Brook men's lacrosse more than a decade ago, as the result of fellow British Columbia natives Cory Conway and Rhys Duch playing with the program.

Crowley ultimately became a Stony Brook recruiting target and signee, too.

And the Canadian pipeline to the Seawolves that the trio helped establish continues to this day.

Seven members of the 2020 Stony Brook men's lacrosse team hailed from Canada: Matt Anderson, Noah Armitage, Kyle Hebert, Patrick Kaschalk, Harrison Matsuoka, Mike McCannell and Caleb Pearson.

Stony Brook's Canadian tally ranked fourth among the 74 NCAA Division I men's lacrosse programs this past season. Only Robert Morris (12), St. Bonaventure (nine) and Vermont (eight) had more Canadians on their 2020 rosters.

The Seawolves have an eighth Canadian joining the program for the 2020-21 academic year, too: Zach Thompson from Ontario.

"It's been great to see the Canadian pipeline that has developed over the years at Stony Brook," said Crowley, the only player ever to be drafted first overall by National Lacrosse League and Major League Lacrosse organizations. "I think Canadians bring a high skill level and grit to any team. I'm looking forward to seeing more Canadians play at 'The Brook.'"

At Stony Brook, Crowley earned the 2010 USILA Enners Award, given to nation's most outstanding Division I player.

Recruit Jordan McBride had told the Stony Brook coaching staff that Crowley also was interested in attending college in the United States. And both New Westminster, B.C., natives eventually signed with the Seawolves for the 2008 season.
 
Crowley and McBride now rank second and third, respectively, in program history in career goals. They each earned an America East Player of the Year honor — Crowley as a junior and McBride as a senior.

Behind them on the program's career goals list are two other British Columbia natives: two-time USILA All-American Challen Rogers (fourth) and Brody Eastwood (sixth).

How important was the Canadian contribution to the 2020 Seawolves, who went 5-2 during the abbreviated season?

Pearson's 15 goals tied for the team lead. He had three sudden-death winners — against St. John's, Brown and Sacred Heart.

Anderson and Pearson started all seven games, while McCannell and Matsuoka also appeared in every game. Kaschalk started four games before suffering a season-ending injury at Rutgers. Armitage, a freshman, worked his way into the starting lineup just before the season abruptly ended. Hebert backed up Michael Bollinger in goal.

Armitage had emerged as a finalist for Team Canada for the World Lacrosse Men's U19 World Championship that was to be held in Ireland this month. The final-round tryout as well as the tournament were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"There's nothing like the feeling of having a Canadian brother on your team, because most — if not all of us — play box lacrosse at home," McCannell said, referring to the game's indoor version. "We all understand the competitiveness and the desire to win. The same competitiveness transfers to college lacrosse. We want to make each other better.

"There definitely is a competitiveness against our America teammates, because we always want to be the best."

The bottom line: Stony Brook men's lacrosse has a rich tradition of getting Canadian contributions throughout its history, a fact worth celebrating on Canada Day.

"Like, Long Island, Canada has amazing lacrosse talent," Stony Brook coach Anthony Gilardi said. "We are very fortunate to have had some tremendously talented Canadian student-athletes on and off the field in our program.  We look forward to continuing to build our pipeline north of the border."