Women's soccer draws Maryland in the NCAA Tournament

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Stony Brook, N.Y. - The "Road Warrior" Stony Brook women's soccer team is about to hit the road again. After capturing their first-ever America East Championship title on Sunday, the Seawolves have drawn Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The match will take place Saturday, Nov. 10 at Ludwig Field in College Park, Md., at 7 p.m.

Stony Brook is 12-6-3 this season, the most wins the program has had in a single season since 1994. The Seawolves were the No. 6 seed in the America East Championship and beat No. 3 New Hampshire, No. 2 Maine and No. 1 Hartford, all on the road, to capture the crown. The Seawolves became the first No. 6 seed to win the conference title.

Led by 28th-year head coach Sue Ryan, America East Championship Most Outstanding Player Sa'sha Kershaw (Baltimore, Md.), leading goal scorerLarissa Nysch (Dresher, Pa.), defender Ahriel Fernandez (East Haven, Conn.) and goalkeeper Ashley Castanio (Oceanside, N.Y.), the Seawolves will face a Terrapins team that went 13-6-2 this season and advanced to the ACC Championship final, where they fell to Virginia. This is Maryland's 13th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth consecutive.

The two teams have previously met twice all-time, in 2006 and 2010, and the Terrapins won both matchups by scores of 2-0.

The winner of the Maryland-Stony Brook match will play the winner of the Denver-Colorado College match. The other half of the pod has Santa Clara hosting Long Beach State and Idaho State traveling to No. 1 seed Stanford.

Tickets for the Saturday's first round match are $7 for adults and $4 for students, youth and seniors. Advance tickets are available through the Maryland ticket office by calling             1-800-IM-A-TERP      .

CONGRATS - Stony Brook Women's Soccer - 2012 America East Champions!

Miguel Maysonet, Kevin Norrell score three TDs each in SBU's 45-7 win

By Greg Logan, Newsday

Senior Night at Stony Brook turned into a showcase game for the three seniors who lead the Seawolves' high-powered offense -- running back Miguel Maysonet, quarterback Kyle Essington and wide receiver Kevin Norrell. That dominant trio accounted for every SBU touchdown in a 45-7 victory over Virginia Military InstituteSaturday night at LaValle Stadium.

The win clinched at least a tie for Stony Brook's fourth straight Big South Conference title, but the Seawolves (9-1, 5-0) still must win their regular-season finale at Liberty on Saturday to be assured of the conference's automatic bid to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

The Flames (4-5, 3-1) will have their hands full if Stony Brook's offensive stars approach the kind of performance they staged against VMI (2-7, 0-4).

Maysonet, one of the leading candidates for the Walter PaytonAward as the most outstanding FCS player, carried 20 times for 149 yards and three touchdowns to set a Big South record with 49 career TDs.

Essington, the FCS passing efficiency leader, completed 12 of 17 passes for 166 yards and fired three touchdown passes to Norrell, who had eight catches for 113 yards. Marcus Coker added 139 yards rushing on 19 carries.

For Maysonet, it was another game in which he piled up records. It marked his sixth game with at least three TDs, a Big South record. He also surpassed his school and Big South single-season rushing record of 1,633 yards in the third quarter, pushing his season total to 1,651 yards. He has 19 TDs this season.

"I don't worry about it," Maysonet said of his stats. "I'm a team player. All the records don't mean much."

Although the Stony Brook campus had power for all but a few hours this week, the crowd was a modest 4,421 thanks to Sandy's effects. Essington, who lives off campus and went without power until Saturday morning, said, "It was a weird feeling going all week without power. I felt 'locked up' all week."

Maysonet expressed his appreciation for those who made it to the game, saying, "We know people were struggling hard at home with their families. Family first is what counts. We did OK for the people who came out."

Maysonet's 25-yard run set up a 5-yard TD pass from Essington to Norrell for the opening score. On the Seawolves' next possession, Maysonet bounced an off-tackle play outside with a couple of stutter steps and scored on a 16-yards run for a 14-0 lead.

The only Stony Brook error was an uncharacteristic Maysonet fumble in the second quarter. But the Seawolves held and then drove 80 yards, with Essington completing five passes to Norrell for 51 yards, including an 11-yard score. Just before halftime, Maysonet broke a 32-yard run to set up his 2-yard touchdown run for a 28-0 lead.

The first time Stony Brook got the ball in the third quarter, it went 81 yards to score on a 1-yard run by Maysonet for a 35-0 cushion. VMI got on the board with an 8-yard pass from Eric Kordenbrock to Dexter Bridge, but one play after SBU recovered a muffed punt at the VMI 41, Essington hit Norrell up the left side for a 42-7 margin. Wes Skiffington put the cherry on top with a 42-yard field goal.

Speaking for all the seniors, Norrell said, "You always want to go out with a bang. I'm having fun with everyone on the team, especially these guys [Essington and Maysonet]. You're not guaranteed anything. Right now, this was our last home game."

But if the Seawolves win at Liberty, there's still a possibility of an FCS playoff encore at LaValle Stadium.

Seawolves on the Rise - Episode 1 - Stony Brook Women's Basketball

NFL scouts eyeing Stony Brook running back Miguel Maysonet

By Greg Logan, Newsday

The arc of Miguel Maysonet's football career right now is like a rocket in the moments after liftoff, gathering speed and heading off for the stratosphere. Stony Brook's star senior running back has theWalter Payton Award as the outstanding player in the Football Championship Subdivision in his sights, and scouts from 28 of 32 NFL teams have visited.

But if there's one thing Maysonet has learned approaching his final regular-season home game for the Seawolves (8-1, 4-0 Big South) against VMI (2-6, 1-3) at 6 p.m. Saturday at LaValle Stadium, it's a sense of perspective.

"All the hype you grow up having with your football, you have to learn to put that to the side because hype isn't everything," Maysonet said recently. "You can get sidetracked. I learned to focus on the task at hand, and that's getting my schoolwork done and doing what I needed to be a successful football player.

"It's hard when everything is coming at you in bunches, having all these [scouts] come and see you. You're like, 'Wow, it's real.' But I try to just focus on my team and having fun with the guys."

For all the style Maysonet has displayed on the field this season, rushing for 1,502 yards through nine games to rank second in FCS with a per-game average of 166.9 yards and 16 touchdowns, it's his substance that is the most endearing quality.

Four years ago, when he won Newsday's Hansen Award as the top football player in Suffolk County at Riverhead High, he said, "I came from nothing."

He detailed an existence in which he and his mother, Yolanda Santana, occupied an apartment over a garage that had no shower or bathtub, requiring him to heat the water in which he bathed. Since then, their living situation has improved significantly. Luis, one of his two brothers, returned to Long Island from Puerto Rico and has provided sufficient income to allow the family to find better quarters in Riverhead.

"We're excited to be living where we are now," Maysonet said.

Maysonet enjoys a strong relationship with his father, Jose, but his defining influence is the work ethic his mother displayed after the couple divorced during his preschool years. Santana worked as a maid at a local hotel before going to a job at a fast-food franchise.

"I just want to be able to give back to her because she put her all into helping me grow up to be the man I am today," Maysonet said. "She would get off from her hotel job and would have to go to work at Wendy's to make ends meet. You're working from morning until 10 p.m. or midnight at times just to support us.

"When I really noticed it was when I had to do my [financial aid forms] to get into college, and I saw she wasn't making that much money a year. I was thinking, if this football thing can work out for me and I'm able to prosper and succeed, then I can provide for her more than she's ever had in her life."

Maysonet appears likely to become Stony Brook's first NFL draft pick.

"Everybody's been in, and they like his whole package," Seawolves coach Chuck Priore said of pro scouts. "They love who he is. They love what everybody says about him. He's low-maintenance, good grades, and he plays the game. He's an NFL-type back. He doesn't run east-west."

If Stony Brook wins a fourth consecutive Big South title and goes to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the second straight season, it will boost Maysonet's candidacy for thePayton Award. Priore noted that Maysonet's SBU career average of 7.0 yards per carry (8.4 this year) in a run-oriented offense is a good indication of how unstoppable he has been.

"I think he's as good as it comes at this level," Priore said.

Plenty of NFL personnel experts believe Maysonet can succeed at the highest level. In the estimation of one NFL scout who has seen Maysonet, he is likely to be drafted in the fourth or fifth round.

"Maysonet is a shorter back [5-10], but he does a lot of things," said the scout, who asked to remain anonymous. "He's instinctive, very smart, has amazing balance and he hasn't been hurt. He may not run a 4.3 in the open field, but his agility, his athleticism and his ability to change directions on a dime are special.

"At FCS schools, there's always a question of the level of competition. For Maysonet, it doesn't apply. The games he played against FBS schools were his best games."

In five career games against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents, Maysonet averaged 129 yards per game and 6.2 yards per carry with three touchdowns, including runs of 71 yards against Syracuse and 49 against Army this season. He totaled 378 yards rushing in those two games.

"He's almost the perfect prospect in regards to being a good athlete, good production, consistent production, good person, smart student and a leader," the NFL scout said. "It's hard to find all those characteristics in a lot of players."