THREE-PEAT: Budke’s Late-Game Heroics Help Stony Brook Lift Third CAA Title
Dylan Smith
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PHOTO GALLERY | HIGHLIGHTS | PRESS CONFERENCE – STONY BROOK
STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Stony Brook’s
Kylie Budke with the late-game heroics to lift the Seawolves to its third straight CAA Championship with a 12-10 victory over second-seeded Drexel at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Tied 10-10 with under four minutes to play, the junior midfielder blew past the Dragons’ defender before cutting into the crease and throwing her shot into the back of the net to put the Seawolves ahead by one, 11-10, with 3:27 to play. After another draw control win from CAA Midfielder of the Year
Isabella Caporuscio, Budke cut through the slot from the near sideline, diving through the slot and putting the game away with her second goal of the game. Budke earned Most Outstanding Player honors with her game-winning tally.
With its win on Saturday, Stony Brook (15-4) became just the third program in league history to secure three consecutive league titles, joining Towson (2012-14) and James Madison (2017-19).
The Seawolves’ Charlotte Wilmoth produced a three-goal, two-assist showing in Saturday’s victory. Caporuscio and
Alexandra Fusco all netted two goals apiece, with the latter also tallying a helper. Casey Colbert and Riley McDonald produced two-point efforts, registering a goal and an assist each.
Stony Brook jumped out to an early 2-0 lead as Colbert scored in transition after Hines caused a turnover.
Bea Buckley put Drexel (14-4) on the board by beating Stony Brook’s
Natalia Altebrando at the near post, 2-1, jumpstarting three straight goals for the Dragons.
Anna Maria Gragnani closed the scoring spurt after corralling a cross-crease pass from Buckley and hit twine to take a 3-2 lead.
Entering the second quarter deadlocked at three, the two teams continued to trade blows until Gragnani finished off a pair of feeds from
Bridget Finley to take a 6-5 advantage with 6:17 to play in the half. Gragnani posted a hat trick and Finley produced a five-point effort, logging a goal and four assists on the afternoon.
The Seawolves’
Alexandra Fusco found the back of the net 45 seconds later to knot the game at six. Wilmoth put Stony Brook ahead at the intermission with a buzzer-beater, cutting to the cage and firing home her shot to take a 7-6 advantage.
Cuocco made two point-blank saves on Stony Brook through the early part of the third quarter, a hint of what was to come for the three-time CAA Goalkeeper of the Year. After stopping a high attempt from Molly LaForge, Drexel turned in the other direction and saw
Kate Quinn laser an attempt into the back of the cage to take an 8-7 lead. The redshirt senior followed up with another point-blank stuff on Caporuscio to keep the Seawolves at bay.
Stony Brook turned on the jets and scored three unanswered goals as
Courtney Maclay,
Riley McDonald and Caporuscio all found the back of the net to take a 10-8 lead into the final frame.
With the Seawolves leading by two, the Dragons’
Kate Marano registered her third goal of the contest before
Allison Drake ripped the game-tying goal for a 10-10 deadlock with 10:06 to play in regulation. Cuocco stood on her head with three straight stops and held Stony Brook scoreless for the first 11 minutes of the quarter. The Dragons’ netminder made 12 of her 18 stops in the second half alone.
Budke delivered the game-winner at 3:27 and the extra tally with under two minutes to go, sealing the win and guiding the Seawolves to their third straight CAA crown.
The Seawolves received the automatic bid into the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship and will see who their next opponent is on the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, May 4 at 9 p.m. ESPNU will carry the national telecast.
2025 CAA All-Tournament Team
Kylie Budke, Stony Brook*
Isabella Caporuscio, Stony Brook
Jenika Cuocco, Drexel
Bridget Finley, Drexel
Sammy Fisher, Elon
Morgan Gore, Delaware
Molly LaForge, Drexel
Jaclyn Marszal, Delaware
Allie Masera, Stony Brook
Camryn Ryan, Drexel
Caitlin Walsh, Elon
*italic is 2025 CAA Most Outstanding Player