Brody Eastwood scores six goals to spur Stony Brook
Stony Brook attacker Brody Eastwood passes the ball against Lafayette in the first half of a NCAA Division I men's lacrosse game at LaValle Stadium on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Brody Eastwood wasn't impressed with the fact that he came within a goal of his career high for Stony Brook on Tuesday night. He was more impressed with another No. 1, the Seawolves' first win of the young men's lacrosse season.
"I really don't look at that," he said after scoring six goals in the Seawolves' 18-10 victory over Lafayette at LaValle Stadium. "I was really looking forward to the first win. It was pretty tough on Friday. I was pretty upset about that."
The Seawolves were coming off a frustrating season-opening 13-12 loss to Marist on Friday.
"We bounced back pretty well; a lot of energy coming out," Eastwood said. "We didn't put our foot off the gas."
Eastwood had some help Tuesday night. Jake Sichenzia had a hat trick and Challen Rogers (three assists), Mike Rooney and Alex Corpolongo two goals each.
"It's awesome. They can't key on one guy when everyone's popping in some goals," Eastwood said.
Coach Jim Nagle said: "Brody's role a lot of times is a result of us sharing the ball and his ability to get open and finish a high percentage of his shots. If you look at his percentage, it's uncanny."
Eastwood put away six of his eight shots, connecting once in each of the first two quarters and twice apiece in the remaining two periods.
The Seawolves broke it open by scoring five unanswered goals for a 9-4 advantage in a span of 4:30.
Sichenzia, Rogers, Eastwood and Hughes scored past goalie Jake Hyatt. Freshman midfielder Kyle Rowe punctuated the streak with an unassisted tally only five seconds after he won a faceoff with 2:57 remaining in the second quarter.
"It's kind of demoralizing if a team wins a faceoff and jams it down your throat," Nagle said.
Rowe won 18 of 21 faceoffs, giving the Seawolves possession virtually every time after their goals.
"He's tremendous," Nagle said. "It's been a real blessing to have him. We're going to need him this weekend because they're going to come after him."
Nagle was referring to the Seawolves' next game at second-ranked Duke on Sunday.
"We're a young team," Nagle said. "We're going to roll it out and play hard and see what happens."
