STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Because of all the attention Kylie Ohlmiller, Taryn Ohlmiller and Courtney Murphy garner on offense, Stony Brook women’s lacrosse coach Joe Spallina’s defense seems to play second fiddle.

Spallina has insisted time and again that defense is what has driven the Seawolves to new heights with each passing year of his seven-year tenure. The goals are sometimes flashy, but the defense is often suffocating, and it reaffirmed its dominance Sunday afternoon.

Hosting the second round of the NCAA tournament, fifth-seeded Stony Brook throttled Penn, 18-5, behind Murphy’s nine points (six goals, three assists) and a defense that held the Quakers to just 18 shots.

Stony Brook (20-0) will play at fourth-seeded Boston College next weekend in the quarterfinals.

“Defense is a staple of our program. It always has been,” Spallina said. “We need to make sure that we are the best version of our ourselves. We spent an excessive amount of time this week really stripping it down to the beams, as far as our defense, and building it back up.”

One of the few zone defenses in the nation, Stony Brook thrives when it’s cutting off passing lanes and playing aggressively. The starting unit of Carolyn Carrera, Mackenzie Burns, Carlee Janelli and Brooke Gubitosi excelled in front of Anna Tesoriero, who made nine saves.

BIG stop from Tesoriero in the cage, and the Seawolves lead by  in the first half.

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— Stony Brook WLAX (@StonyBrookWLAX) May 13, 2018

Throw in the first-half defense of Ally Kennedy and Samantha DiSalvo, and the Seawolves held a team riding the high of a 15-14 overtime win over Penn State in the first round Friday night to just two first-half goals.

“I’m fired up about it,” Spallina said. “We did a really good job of making them extremely uncomfortable, and that’s really when our defense is at our best … The biggest thing is making them do what we want them to do as opposed to them dictating where the ball’s going.”

Kennedy, the America East Midfielder of the Year and often the fastest player on the field, corralled five ground balls and kick-started Stony Brook’s transition offense.

“Leading up all week, going out early every single day for draws and then spending most of our practice working on defense, those are the plays I want to make,” Kennedy said. “I feel like those plays, on the draw circle and defense, then help me gain confidence to make plays on the offensive end.”

The defense was contagious, with Murphy even chipping in with a caused turnover and ground ball on a ride during an attempted clear by Penn (14-5).

“We kind of know what’s on the line with these games, and one play can really make a difference,” Murphy said. “It being my fifth year, I just want to make as much of an impact as I can. If that requires me having to ride a little bit harder, I guess I’ll put myself out there for that.”

Penn coach Karin Brower Corbett praised Stony Brook, agreeing with the general consensus that Stony Brook was seeded too low. Despite the lopsided loss, Penn didn’t end its season on a sour note, as the Quakers scored the last three goals of the game on tallies by Zoe Belodeau (who scored Friday’s game-winner), Alex Condon and Gabby Rosenzweig.

Belodeau and Abby Bosco each had four draw controls, helping Penn compile a 14-10 draw advantage for the game. Spallina even shifted from Keri McCarthy to Carrera in the circle during the second half.

“As I said before, I think that they should have been a higher seed. I had never seen them live, and they are impressive,” Corbett said. “I think their strength is their shooting. They’re very good shooters, and I think their basic skills are great. They play at a high pace, and they have a lot of threats on the attack. Their defense is obviously good, kept us to not many goals. We were open some on the inside, and we have to catch and finish. I don’t think we did that well today.”

Now, Stony Brook will take its revenge tour to Chestnut Hill, Mass., for a date with the high-octane Eagles of Boston College. The Seawolves are motivated to prove to the selection committee they were seeded poorly, but also driven to play in the final four at their very own Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.

Spallina, never one to sugarcoat his opinions, ended Sunday’s press conference with much more than a statement. Call it a promise.

“If you’re going to write our story, it would not be that Stony Brook’s going to be home the whole playoffs,” he said. “There’s going to be some kind of adversity … We’re going to go to BC, but we’ll be back here in two weeks, sitting in the same seats, happy again.”