Tournament Trend 12 Michelle Rubino
Key Game Stony Brook, which has
upped its strength of schedule considerably in the Spallina era, has lost in Gainesville in each the past two seasons. This year the Seawolves host the Gators up north.
M
Enemy Lines WHAT RIVAL COACHES SAY
“They were overrated last year, but still a good team. They need to get a few more significant wins before they get the credit they deserve… Spallina is a charismatic coach with a plan, but I’m not sure they have the talent to break into the top 10… They graduated their big guns. Rubino won’t be able to do it alone… With BU gone, only real competition in the America East is Albany.”
Stony Brook SEAWOLVES
2013 RECORD: 17-3 (6-0 AMERICA EAST) COACH: JOE SPALLINA (3RD YEAR) • RECORD AT STONY BROOK: 31-8
09 10 11 12 13
Schedule Feb 15 Feb 19 Feb 22 Feb 26 Mar 1 Mar 8
Mar 12 Mar 20 Mar 29 Apr 4 Apr 6 Apr 9
Apr 19 Apr 22 Apr 26
Bucknell Monmouth
at Notre Dame at Drexel Florida
at Rutgers
Central Connecticut at Iona UMBC
Jacksonville
at Binghamton at Yale
New Hampshire at Delaware at Vermont
aybe when it’s all said and done, they’ll sing songs about Michelle Rubino on Long Island’s North
Shore. They’ll tell of the local girl with the long, bouncing, Avatar-style braids and the freakish athleticism who helped make Stony Brook a national name. “She’s like a folk legend around here,”
said Stony Brook coach Joe Spallina. “Kids come out to watch her and they’re wearing their hair like hers. She makes it cool to stay home.” Rubino, who grew up a stone’s throw from campus in Port
N.Y., is one of several
local
legends making Stony
Brook
a place to be. Two years after winning
just
four games, the Seawolves set a school record with 17 wins in 2013, reaching
the
second round of the NCAA tournament. “Maybe some people are surprised that
we’ve climbed the charts this fast,” said Spallina, who took over the team in 2011 after winning three straight NCAA Division II titles at Adelphi. Three stars who made that possible — Demmianne Cook, Claire Petersen and
A Publication of US Lacrosse
Projected Starters A Courtney Murphy (Fr.) G: 82
X-Factor M JENNA DAVIS (GR.)
Spallina recruited Davis when he was at Adelphi. She opted for Princeton. Davis started 16 games for the Tigers in 2013.
Janine Hillier — graduated. In their place are 14 freshmen, the first full recruiting class Spallina has had. The real strength for Stony Book last
Jefferson,
season was defense. And the Seawolves, who set an NCAA Division I record by allowing just 5.65 goals per game, once again will be tough to score on. Frankie Caridi, one of the best goalies in the country, is back for her final season in the cage, as are lockdown defenders Maegan Meritz and Alyssa Fleming. Plenty of veteran talent remains on
offense, including 30-goal locks Amber Kupres and Emily Mercier and ace playmaker Alyssa Cardillo. The Seawolves also added Jenna Davis, who started 16 games for Princeton last season. “Last year we had three star players,”
Spallina said. “Now we’re a team that’s balanced.” But Stony Brook does have a budding
star in Rubino. Spallina recruited her to Adelphi, even though she always expected to play basketball in college, and convinced her to join him in Stony Brook. Rubino has started every game since and already ranks fourth in school history with 151 draw controls.
— M.M. February 2014 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 63
A Alyssa Guido (Fr.) G: 36
A Dorrien Van Dyke (Fr.) G: 62
A Alyssa Cardillo (Sr.) G: 8
M Emily Mercier (Sr.)* G: 28
M Amber Kupres (Jr.)* G: 31
DC: 57 GB: 23 GB: 41
M Jenna Agostino (Jr.) GB: 1
D Alyssa Fleming (So.)* GB: 29
D Jessica Romano (Sr.) G: 5
G Frankie Caridi (Sr.)* GAA: 5.71
* returning starters Top Returner M MICHELLE RUBINO (JR.)
Few can match the raw athleticism of Rubino, who is Stony Brook’s leading returner in goals (34), points (46) and draw controls (57). She poses a matchup nightmare for most foes.
Power Ratings (SCALE OF 1-5)
3 4 5 4 OFFENSE DEFENSE GOALIE DRAW
D Maegan Meritz (R-So.)* GB: 18
Starts: 2 CT: 17 GB: 9 CT: 8
SV%: 53.0
A: 16 [at William Floyd) A: 38 [at Rocky Point) A: 23 (at Northport) A: 14
M Michelle Rubino (Jr.)* G: 34
2ND
RD
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