Stony Brook Seawolves men's lacrosse
2013–2019: The drought years
#### 2013–2019: The drought years

In the years following the 2012 NCAA Tournament run, the Nagle\-led Seawolves languished in mediocrity. Stony Brook played a tough schedule in 2013, with losses to \#6 Virginia, \#1 Maryland, and \#12 Yale, but suffered a losing record in conference play for the first time since 2007 as the Seawolves lost two games in overtime. Their season ended with a 7–9 record after a loss to \#12 Albany, 17–15, in the semifinals of the America East Tournament.

In 2014, Stony Brook had a second consecutive losing record in both overall and conference play. Stony Brook traveled to \#1 Duke in a 14–6 loss, and played host to \#1 Maryland in a 11–8 defeat. Stony Brook went 2–3 in conference play for a second year in a row. In the semifinals of the America East Tournament, the Seawolves lost 17–16 to \#18 Albany, ending their season at 6–10 overall.

The 2015 season initially appeared to be a bounceback year for Stony Brook, who saw winning streaks of both four and five games, winning nine games in a ten\-game span. The Seawolves' lone loss during that stretch was a home defeat to \#15 Albany, but the team also beat \#12 Princeton. Stony Brook's 10–2 start was a new program best, but back\-to\-back home losses against Lehigh, 12–11, and \#6 Duke, 17–11, halted momentum after the five\-game winning streak. Stony Brook then won the final three games of the regular season, with two overtime wins, to head into the America East Tournament at 12–4\. The Seawolves beat Vermont 16–13 in the semifinals before being crushed by \#6 Albany in the championship game, 22–9\. Stony Brook tied the program record for wins in a season, ending 13–5, but missed the NCAA Tournament for a third straight year.

Stony Brook started 2016 strong at 5–1, with home wins over \#16 [Rutgers](/wiki/Rutgers_Scarlet_Knights_men%27s_lacrosse "Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's lacrosse") and \#12 [Hofstra](/wiki/Hofstra_Pride_men%27s_lacrosse "Hofstra Pride men's lacrosse") and a loss to \#9 Brown. The team's lone loss in America East play was to \#11 Albany for the second straight season. Stony Brook won seven of its last eight regular season games to reach a 12–3 record. However, the Seawolves lost to Vermont 10–9 in the conference semifinals. In 2017, Stony Brook started 4–0, including a win at \#10 Brown, before losing five of the next six. In a familiar scene, \#6 Albany routed Stony Brook 19–6 in the America East semifinals to cap off a 7–7 campaign.

Stony Brook began the 2018 season 0–4\. On March 10, Stony Brook hosted \#9 Virginia, but the 15–14 loss was more memorable for the on\-field fight that occurred. The Seawolves closed the season out strong, capturing a share of the America East regular season title for the first time since 2012\. Nevertheless, Stony Brook lost in the semifinals of the America East Tournament for a third straight year.

In 2019, the Seawolves struggled initially, losing to \#4 [Penn State](/wiki/Penn_State_Nittany_Lions_men%27s_lacrosse "Penn State Nittany Lions men's lacrosse"), [Marist](/wiki/Marist_Red_Foxes "Marist Red Foxes"), [Sacred Heart](/wiki/Sacred_Heart_Pioneers "Sacred Heart Pioneers"), and [Hartford](/wiki/Hartford_Hawks_men%27s_lacrosse "Hartford Hawks men's lacrosse") to bring their record to 3–4\. However, they upset [St. John's](/wiki/St._John%27s_Red_Storm "St. John's Red Storm") on the road, and came back from a 7–1 deficit to beat [Vermont](/wiki/Vermont_Catamounts "Vermont Catamounts") 10–9\. Stony Brook clinched the regular season title by defeating Albany 12–10 at home in a rain\-delayed season finale. Hosting the America East Tournament as the No. 1 seed, Stony Brook was upset at home 14–8 by UMBC in the semifinals, marking the team's fourth semifinal loss in a row. On May 14, Stony Brook athletic director Shawn Heilbron announced that Nagle would not return as head coach. In eight seasons with the Seawolves, Nagle recorded a 68–61 record overall and 31–14 in conference play, but made just one NCAA Tournament in his first season and had six one\-and\-dones in the America East Tournament.


Why did Nagle not return as head coach after the 2019 season?