Sports

Adelphi Women's Lacrosse Star from Wantagh Transfers to Stony Brook

Claire Petersen takes her skills to Division I program after leading Lady Panthers to two national titles.

Former Wantagh High School girls lacrosse star Claire Petersen, who led the nation in scoring while leading Adelphi to a Division II national title in 2011, will be suiting up for Stony Brook University in 2012.

Petersen, a 2007 Wantagh High School graduate, is one of four transfers from Adelphi that new Stony Brook women’s lacrosse head coach Joe Spallina announced Tuesday. Spallina coached at Adelphi the last four years and was introduced as Stony Brook’s new head coach in June after leading the Lady Panthers to three straight national titles.

"Claire is an amazingly skilled lacrosse player," said Spallina. "Her stick skills are unparalleled, she has incredible field vision and she has an ability to make the people around her better, which is what all superstars do."

Petersen will have two years of eligibility remaining at Stony Brook, a Division I program that competes in the America East Conference. The Wantagh native was the 2011 IWLCA Div. II National Attacker of the Year after scoring 182 points,including 57 goals and an NCAA-leading 125 assists. The 182 points and 125 assists were both NCAA single-season records.

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Petersen, an All-American selection in her two seasons with Adelphi, helped lead the Lady Panthers to back-to-back national championships and was the Most Outstanding Player at the 2011 NCAA Div. II Championship. Petersen had transferred to Adelphi from Catholic University in D.C. where she played basketball.


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