Stony Brook vs. Virginia: Three things to watch
Virginia and Stony Brook meet for the first time in the NCAA Tournament, but the Cavaliers have owned the all-time series, winning all seven games. The Cavaliers, the top seed, are 20-8 in the quarterfinal round and haven’t lost at this point in the tournament since 1998. The Seawolves, the No. 8 seed, are making their first appearance in the quarterfinals. The winner of Sunday’s contest at 2:30 p.m. at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium in Stony Brook, N.Y., will move on and face No. 4 seed North Carolina (14-2) or No. 5 seed Duke (14-4) on Saturday, May 29 at either 4 or 6:30 p.m. at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
1. One key to a Stony Brook win: Emotions are running high around the Seawolves for beating Denver, 9-7, in the first round and earning their first victory in the NCAA Tournament. School officials had already sold 9,600 tickets to the quarterfinals by Thursday. Many of the fans in attendance will be Stony Brook fans trying to will the team to another win. The players have to take advantage of the wave of support and ride those emotions against a Virginia team that some say is the most talented in the history of the sport.
2. One key to a Virginia win: The Cavaliers took care of the Seawolves, 13-8, on Feb. 27 courtesy of a productive performance on face-offs. Sophomore Ryan Benincasa won 12-of-16 face-offs, outdueling Stony Brook junior Adam Rand. Benincasa isn’t even Virginia’s best face-off specialist as senior Brian McDermott has won 63.4 percent this season. McDermott and Benincasa will have to be just as successful against Rand, who ranks fourth among Division I face-off specialists with a 60.6 percentage.
3. One key match-up: Seawolves midfielders Kevin Crowley and Tom Compitello each scored two goals against Virginia, but junior attackman Jordan McBride was shut out by senior defenseman and Tewaaraton Award finalist Ken Clausen. If Clausen repeats that performance, Stony Brook will be hard-pressed to pull off an upset. If McBride can turn the tables, the Cavaliers might end the season with yet another disappointing outcome.
