Stony Brook women's lacrosse invites next generation of girls to game against Northwestern

Though the 18th-ranked Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team did not come out on top in Saturday’s 13-12 loss to No. 4 Northwestern, the environment at LaValle Stadium was a win for the program.

Coach Joe Spallina described the crowd as “monstrous” and “electric,” and that energy stemmed from hundreds of girls lacrosse players in attendance. The announced attendance was 2,744, and all tickets included admission for Stony Brook’s men’s lacrosse game vs. Manhattan immediately after.

Stony Brook welcomed several youth girls lacrosse clubs to Saturday’s game, including Lax On Elite, Long Island Top Guns, Igloo Arctic Blast, Long Island Yellow Jackets, Long Island Elite Lacrosse and Island Surge Lacrosse Club among others.

Kylie Shields, a fifth-grader from Riverhead, found out she would be attending Saturday’s game a few weeks ago and was “so excited.” She was not alone.

“It’s awesome to watch them play,” said Fiona McGuire, an eighth-grade goalie from Port Jefferson Station. “Because we're out there all the time, it's great to see the big girls, see how they're playing and what level we should be aspiring to be at.”

Rockville Centre’s Reese Delaney — a third-grader whose cousin, Rockville Centre’s Sienna Connolly, plays for Northwestern — said: “It’s really fun, really cool, and it’s very inspiring.”

That “inspiring” sentiment resonated with virtually every girl in the stands.

“Seeing how good people can become, and if you work hard, then you can have a lot of people to support you and it could be fun to play,” said Colette Diekmann, a seventh-grader from Patchogue.

Delilah Flynn, a fourth-grader from Selden, said: “Just seeing them how they were our age and now they're in college, and it's very inspiring.”

Sydney Morrell, a seventh-grade goalie from Mount Sinai, added: “They worked hard, and it paid off.”

Spallina said that crowds like Saturday’s are “what it’s all about,” and almost all of his players give back by coaching club lacrosse. McGuire noted how Seawolves goalie Hannah Hudson trains her, and Morrell said she has trained with former Stony Brook goalie Hailey Duchnowski. Spallina talked about recruiting visits and how often high schoolers will bring up Kylie Ohlmiller, the NCAA’s all-time points leader, as the reason they wanted to come to Stony Brook.

“When I took this program over [in 2011], we talked about bringing the community and being Long Island's team,” Spallina said. “When I first got the job here, people would just come to watch a game. Like, ‘Let's go watch this game,’ and there was no vested interest. And I think you can feel by the roars of the crowd, the reaction to calls and reaction to goals, that the crowd is very much for us. And I think a day like today with two great teams, heavyweights going at it, it's great for the sport.

“I think a lot of young girls leave here motivated and excited about some day possibly being out there, and that resonates and it stays forever.”

Northwestern attacker and Wantagh native Madison Taylor, whose 109 goals last year were an NCAA single-season record, scored a game-high four goals. It was the senior’s first college game on Long Island, and she had a massive contingent supporting her in attendance.

“It was so fun,” she said. “I'm so happy to be home. All my family and friends and the people that I've trained [were here] … But just to be back, it's so nice. All my friends, my best friends from high school are here. So it's just like the best feeling.”

Taylor spent about 15 minutes after the game taking pictures with fans and signing autographs. She played for Top Guns growing up, and she previously has done clinics for Lax On and Igloo.

“They're all right there,” she said. “It's just so cool to see the girls that you train actually at the games.”

Northwestern (5-1), the 2023 national champs and the national runner-up the past two seasons, fell behind 12-10 with 8:37 left in the third quarter. It scored three unanswered goals; Taylor Lapointe made it 12-11 with 9:40 remaining, Taylor tied it up 1:35 later, and Lapointe scored the eventual winning goal with 1:39 left.

Bayport’s Julia Fusco and Isabella Caporuscio each scored three goals for Stony Brook (3-1), and Reese Hjertaas and Keira Martin each had two.

“I think we showed we could play with anybody in the country,” Spallina said.

Girls who hope to eventually play in college, perhaps for Spallina, will remember that.

“They were probably once in seventh grade also playing lacrosse,” said Riley Zummo, a seventh-grader from the Three Villages. “They just kept doing good and [are] going places.”