Stony Brook women's lacrosse wins another CAA conference tournament championship
Stony Brook midfield Kylie Budke against Drexel in the CAA women's lacrosse championship on Saturday. Credit: George A. Faella
The numbers speak for themselves.
Eleven straight conference championships.
Twelve straight NCAA tournament appearances.
And yet, after No. 19 Stony Brook outlasted No. 23 Drexel, 12-10, in the CAA women’s lacrosse championship game Saturday afternoon at LaValle Stadium, the question asked of Seawolves head coach Joe Spallina was simple and straightforward:
Does he view Stony Brook as a dynasty?
“You have to,” Spallina said. “You have to.”
It would be tough–bordering on impossible–to debate the point. The Seawolves (15-4) have won three straight CAA titles, and dating back to 2013 when Stony Brook was in the American East, have won 11 conference championships in 12 years. The only year that Stony Brook did not win a conference title was 2020, when the season was paused due to COVID-19.
“What we’ve done–our consistency–in this program through the years, it’s absurd,” Spallina said. “It’s crazy. And I don’t think we appreciate it. I don’t think I appreciate it. …It’s definitely a dynasty. How could it [not be] when you win this many games in a row in conference? I’m in my 14th year and I guess with COVID it’s 12 championships in a row. I would say that’s a dynasty on steroids.”
Facing the second-seeded Dragons (14-4) for the second time in 15 days, the Seawolves had six players record multiple points, and nine players finish with one point. Charlotte Wilmouth led Stony Brook with three goals and five points.
Kylie Budke, Isabella Caporuscio and Alexandra Fusco each scored twice for the Seawolves, while Casey Colbert, Courtney Maclay, and Riley McDonald added one goal apiece.
Goalkeeper Natalie Altebrando made five saves.
Budke was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Budke’s unassisted goal with 3:27 remaining broke a 10-10 tie and was the tournament-winner. Her insurance marker with 1:55 left gave the Seawolves the final margin of victory.
The junior midfielder pointed at her teammates when asked how and why she was able to make season-defining plays late in a meaningful game.
“Even in the huddle before the last goal they were all telling me ‘You got it, you got it, it’s on you,’” said Budke, who had scored seven goals this season prior to Saturday. “I just feel like the camaraderie we have just pushed me to be even better.”
And the Seawolves needed it.
Over the course of 60 minutes, top-seeded Stony Brook and second-seed Drexel experienced wild momentum swings. There were eight ties and nine lead changes.
“Our leadership really stepped up,” Wilmouth said. “After we scored, we brought it in and said, even though we had a goal and it was a great play, we just have to stay calm, make smart decisions. In these types of games you don’t want to get too high and too low. You kind of want to stay in that middle ground so you don’t let the game get away from you. I think we did a really good job of listening to our leaders and just embodying a sense of confidence throughout all the different aspects of the game.”
In particular when Drexel pushed back. Although Stony Brook had a 30-15 advantage in shots on goal, the Dragons scored in flurries. Bridget Finley, Kate Marano, and Anna Maria Gragnani found the back of the net in successive fashion in a span of five minutes to give Drexel a 3-2 lead in the first quarter.
From that point on, the teams spent the rest of the afternoon trading goals.
Marano and Gragnani each recorded a hat trick for the Dragons, and goalkeeper Jenika Cuocco stopped 18 of 30 shots.
“Tip of the cap to Drexel,” Spallina said. “They played their hearts out. Great team. Their goalie had 18 saves and that’s a big reason why we couldn’t run away.”
