Stony Brook lacrosse's new look for 2012

With a top 10 ranking and close games against elite teams, Stony Brook University men's lacrosse gained national prominence during the past two seasons.

But the big scorers from those teams have graduated, in particular the Canadian connection of Jordan McBride and Kevin Crowley, so the expectations on the national scene are tempered this season.

"This year it's a different style," defenseman Kyle Moeller said. "We're not relying on those top guys. We have a little more depth."

Stony Brook also has a new coach, Jim Nagle, who spent 10 years at Colgate. He takes over for Rick Sowell, who parlayed his success into the head-coaching job at Navy.

Nagle knows what is expected, but his formula will not necessarily rely on one or two big scorers. "We did lose quite a few guys who had done a lot of great things," he said, "but there's a lot of different ways to win lacrosse games. You don't have to put up 21 goals to win in this game."

The Seawolves believe they have enough talent to make a run at the America East Conference title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They achieved that two seasons ago and came within a whisker of making the Final Four in a one-goal loss to Virginia in a quarterfinal game.

That earned Stony Brook a lofty preseason ranking last season, but Hartford won the America East title and NCAA bid. Ryan Compitello of Hauppauge, the brother of Stony Brook senior Tom Compitello, scored with one second left in the fourth quarter to give Hartford an 11-10 victory over Stony Brook in the conference championship game. Tom Compitello had given the Seawolves a 10-9 lead with 7:27 left.

"We started out with a lot of hype," Moeller said. "We had these big-name players. It was definitely disappointing at the end."

Hartford is the preseason favorite to repeat; Stony Brook placed second. "Who knows what happened last year," senior Russ Bonanno said. "We could have taken them lightly. That's the last thing we wanted to happen. We know that we're going to get another shot this year. All we need is a shot at the end."

Canadian midfielder Robbie Campbell is back, and Ohio State transfer Jeff Tundo can find the cage, but Bonanno could be a big key to the offense. "The opportunities definitely are going to be there," he said.

Nagle agreed, saying of Bonanno, "I think he's real important. He is very versatile. He can play attack or midfield, can dodge from in front of the cage as well as from behind the cage. He's very dynamic that way. We will be trusting him a lot with the decision-making because he is just naturally an intelligent player and an unselfish player."

Stony Brook at a glance

Last year: 10-4.

Coach: Jim Nagle (first season, 86-64 in 10 years at Colgate)

Players to watch

Attack: Jeff Tundo (23 goals, 12 assists for Ohio State). Midfielders: Robbie Campbell (17, 10), Russ Bonanno. Defenseman: Kyle Moeller.

Schedule

Feb. 18 at Fairfield, 3 p.m.

Feb. 25 at Virginia, noon

March 3 Marist, 1 p.m.

March 10 at Delaware, 3 p.m.

March 13 St. John's 7 p.m.

March 17 Towson, 1 p.m.

March 20 at Siena, 3 p.m.

March 24 at Bryant, 1 p.m.

March 31 Vermont, 1 p.m.

April 7 at Binghamton, 7 p.m.

April 14 at UMBC, 7 p.m.

April 16 Yale, 7 p.m.

April 21 Hartford, 7 p.m.

April 28 at Albany, 7 p.m.