FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Senior Sal Miccio tallied his 100th career point on Sunday afternoon with a seven-point performance as the Sacred Heart University men's lacrosse team dropped its season opener to Stony Brook, 17-14 at home on Campus Field. Morgan O'Reilly scored a team-high seven goals to lead the Pioneers. Sacred Heart had seven different goal scorers.

Records:
Sacred Heart: 0-1
Stony Brook: 1-0

Top Performers:
Morgan O'Reilly: 7 goals, 2 assists
Sal Miccio: 2 goals, 5 assists
Carson Spooner: 1 point, 2 assists
Alex Pazienza: 8 saves 

Of Note:
After trailing 3-2 at the end of the first quarter, the Pioneers had a strong second period. Miccio opened the second with his first goal of the season at 14:06 to tie the game 3-3. The Seawolves scored next, but SHU answered with three straight goals, including two from O'Reilly, as the Pioneers took a 6-4 lead midway through the quarter.

Stony Brook scored one more, but John Murray and O'Reilly had back-to-back tallies to extend the Pioneers lead, 8-5 with 2:21 left in the second frame. Stony Brook scored its last goal of the period at 1:54 before Sacred Heart added two more from Carson Spooner and Jake Ward to take a 10-6 lead at halftime.

The Seawolves found their scoring groove in the second half, holding the Pioneers to just one goal in the third quarter to tie the game 11-11 heading into the final 15 minutes of play.

Stony Brook scored four straight goals to open the fourth period, taking a 15-11 lead. O'Reilly scored at 7:43, but the visitors answered with back-to-back goals to hold a 17-12 edge with just over four minutes left.

O'Reilly scored two straight for SHU but it wasn't enough as Stony Brook was able to hold off the Pioneers and take the 17-14 final.

Junior Luke Romanek made his debut for the Pioneers, winning 20-of-34 face offs. Senior goalkeeper Alex Pazienza made eight saves between the pipes for Sacred Heart. 

With an assist on O'Reilly's goal at 12:47 in the second quarter, Miccio eclipsed the 100-career point marker. His seven points today matches his career high, set during the 2022 season. O'Reilly matched his career-high in goals with seven and set a career-high in points with nine.

Up Next:
The Pioneers will be on the road for two straight games, starting with Merrimack next Saturday, February 10, at noon.