Stony Brook puts a scare into the Terps, but can’t hold on for the upset
Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup between undefeated Maryland and 20–1 Stony Brook could have been a championship game.
In fact, depending on who you ask, it should have been. The Seawolves, ranked inside the Top 5 by every national poll in the last week of the season, were nevertheless saddled with the eight seed by the NCAA selection committee, likely as a result of North Carolina’s transphobic bathroom bill. So instead of possibly hosting a quarterfinal at home, they were forced to match up on the road against the country’s best offense.
Fans in attendance or watching online were certainly treated to a championship-caliber contest. Maryland used a late rally in the second half to take their first lead of the game with just over 2 minutes to play and held on for a narrow 13–12 win and a spot in the NCAA Semifinals next weekend.
The Seawolves jumped out to a 5–1 lead over the Terps in the first half, the largest deficit Maryland has faced all season. Tewaarton Finalist Kylie Ohlmiller tallied three goals to pace the Stony Brook offense, with younger sister Taryn adding three of her own and senior Dorrien Van Dyke contributing two more. Kylie also notched four more assists to break the all-time NCAA record for assists in a single season. She broke the record for most single-season points earlier in the NCAA tournament.
But Maryland—the highest-scoring team in the country averaging nearly 17 points per game in the Big 10—didn’t let Stony Brook pull away. A goal right at the halftime buzzer capped a 5–2 Maryland run to make it a one-score game in favor of the Seawolves.
Stony Brook emerged from the locker room in top form though, and halted whatever momentum the Terps had built in the first half. The Seawolves went on a 4–1 run in the first 15 minutes of the second half, with the last goal coming on a feed from Kylie to Taryn to make it 11–7.
As in the first half though, Maryland clapped right back. After a Terps timeout, two goals inside 90 seconds brought them back within 2. They would go on to win 7 of the final 9 draw controls, denying Stony Brook’s potent offense any opportunity to pad their lead. Maryland tied it at 12 with 3:18 to play, and went ahead for good a minute later.
The loss ended Stony Brook’s most successful season to date. Their 20 wins are the most ever for the program, and a quarterfinal appearance is the best showing for the Seawolves after getting bounced in the second round each of the last four years.
