Albany–Stony Brook football rivalry

The Albany–Stony Brook football rivalry, also known as the Battle for the Golden Apple[1][2][3] and the Empire Clash[4][5] is an American college football rivalry between the Albany Great Danes and the Stony Brook Seawolves. Both teams represent university centers of the State University of New York, and since 2013 have competed together as members of CAA Football, the legally separate football league operated by the multi-sports Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).[6][7][8][9] The two teams have met 23 times on the football field, with Albany currently holding a 13–10 edge in the all-time series. Albany leads the series 10–9 since 1999, when both programs moved up to Division I.

Albany–Stony Brook Football Rivalry
Albany Great Danes
Stony Brook Seawolves
SportFootball
First meetingNovember 18, 1995
Stony Brook, 40–21
Latest meetingOctober 29, 2022
Albany, 59–14
Next meetingNovember 11, 2023
TrophyThe Golden Apple Trophy
Statistics
Meetings total24
All-time seriesAlbany leads, 14–10
Trophy seriesTied, 4–4
Largest victoryAlbany, 59–14 (2022)
Longest win streakAlbany, 6 (1996–2001)
Current win streakAlbany, 1 (2022–present)
🌍
Locations of Albany and Stony Brook

Since 2013, when both programs joined CAA Football together, they have been meeting yearly as part of their conference schedule. The rivalry game was coined the "Empire Clash" in 2013 during their first CAA Football game against each other.[4] Starting in 2015, the winner of the game is awarded The Golden Apple Trophy.[10] The game is traditionally played on the final week of the regular season.

Albany plays home games at Bob Ford Field at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium (capacity 8,500, grass surface, located in Albany, NY) and Stony Brook plays home games at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium (capacity 12,300, artificial turf surface, located in Stony Brook, NY).

History

The winner of each year's game is awarded the "Golden Apple" trophy. The trophy was first awarded in 2015, when Stony Brook defeated Albany 20–2 at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium in the final week of the regular season.[11]

Stony Brook and Albany began playing each other regularly beginning in 2013, when both schools joined CAA Football. This led to the origin of the "Empire Clash" nickname, as Stony Brook turned to its fanbase to help provide a moniker for the rivalry.[12][13]

Both Stony Brook head coach Chuck Priore and Albany head coach Greg Gattuso admitted to feeling skeptical about the idea of the Golden Apple trophy when it was first introduced, but have since embraced the importance of its meaning to the teams and their fanbases.[14]

The rivalry game is known to have implications on the FCS playoffs; in 2018, Albany defeated No. 10 Stony Brook 25–23 on a last-second field goal for its first conference win of the season, leading Stony Brook to settle for an at-large berth.[15] In 2019, Albany defeated Stony Brook 31–26 to secure one of the last at-large berths in the playoffs.[16]

Notable games
The Golden Apple trophy

In 2011, the two teams met in the first round of the FCS playoffs; it was both Stony Brook's and Albany's first playoff appearance.[17] Albany led 28–10 in the third quarter before Stony Brook scored 21 unanswered points to take a 31–28 lead. Albany drove down to Stony Brook's three-yard line with less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter before Stony Brook safety Dominick Reyes intercepted Albany quarterback Dan Di Lella in the end zone to secure the win for the Seawolves. The win was Stony Brook's first playoff victory. Stony Brook played in the Big South Conference and Albany played in the Northeast Conference at the time.[18]

Game results
Albany victoriesStony Brook victories
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
1 November 18, 1995A Albany, NY Stony Brook 40–21
2 October 19, 1996A Stony Brook, NY Albany 19–12
3 October 18, 1997A Albany, NY Albany 30–23
4 October 17, 1998A Stony Brook, NY Albany 42–16
5 October 2, 1999 Albany, NY Albany 44–21
6 September 30, 2000 Stony Brook, NY Albany 47–14
7 September 29, 2001 Albany, NY Albany 28–18
8 September 28, 2002 Stony Brook, NY Stony Brook 24–20
9 October 25, 2003 Albany, NY Albany 40–7
10 October 23, 2004 Stony Brook, NY Albany 27–22
11 October 8, 2005 Albany, NY Stony Brook 7–3
12 October 7, 2006 Stony Brook, NY Stony Brook 33–21
13 October 6, 2007 Albany, NY Albany 24–23
14 November 26, 2011B Stony Brook, NY Stony Brook 31–28
15 November 23, 2013 Stony Brook, NY Stony Brook 24–3
16 November 22, 2014 Albany, NY Albany 27–17
17 November 21, 2015 Stony Brook, NY Stony Brook 20–2
18 November 19, 2016 Albany, NY Albany 13–6
19 November 4, 2017 Stony Brook, NYStony Brook 28–21OT
20 November 17, 2018 Albany, NY Albany 25–23
21 November 23, 2019 Stony Brook, NY Albany 31–26
22 March 27, 2021 Albany, NY Stony Brook 21–7
23 November 20, 2021 Stony Brook, NY Stony Brook 36–14
24 October 29, 2022 Albany, NY Albany 59–14
Series: Albany leads 14–10
Note:A pre-Division I
Note:B 2011 FCS 1st Round Playoff Game; Source:[19]

See also

References
  1. Steenkamer, Daniel (14 November 2019). "FCS: Delaware Seeking Senior Day Turnaround Versus Stony Brook". HERO Sports. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  2. "UALBANY FOOTBALL: Great Danes close out regular season with Stony Brook". The Record. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  3. "Stony Brook, UAlbany introduce the battle for The Golden Apple". Stony Brook University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  4. "Stony Brook travels to UAlbany for the Empire Clash - Stony Brook University". Stony Brook University Athletics. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  5. "UAlbany set to face Stony Brook in 'Empire Clash'". UAlbanySports.com. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  6. "CAA eyes all-sports expansion". ESPN. August 8, 2012. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  7. "Football Announces Inaugural CAA Season Schedule". ualbanysports.com. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  8. "UAlbany draws former rival Stony Brook". Times Union. November 20, 2011. Archived from the original on November 4, 2015. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  9. "ITS OFFICIAL! UAlbany Football Announces Its Move To The CAA For 2013". ualbanysports.com. August 8, 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  10. "Stony Brook, UAlbany introduce the battle for The Golden Apple - Stony Brook University". Stony Brook University Athletics. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  11. "Liotine's 203 yards helps SBU finish at .500". Newsday. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  12. Berkes, Peter (2013-05-11). "Albany-Stony Brook rivalry needs a name". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  13. "Fans can name Albany-Stony Brook rivalry game". Sports Network. 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  14. "Rivalry Week Defines College Football - FloFootball". www.flofootball.com. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  15. "Stark's field goal sends Albany past Stony Brook 25-23". National Post. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  16. "Fields, Stony Brook can't complete comeback vs. Albany". Newsday. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  17. Zeller, Jonathan (2011-11-26). "Stony Brook Arrives, Marching Band and All". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  18. Smith, Jared (2011-11-26). "FCS Playoffs 2011, First Round Recap: Stony Brook Edges Albany, 31-28". SB Nation New York. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  19. "SUNY-Albany vs SUNY-Stony Brook (NY)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
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