ORONO, Maine - Christine LaBelle scored the lone goal of the contest as Maine (6-4-6 overall, 3-2-2 America East) clinched a berth in the 2008 America East Women's Soccer Championship with a 1-0 victory over New Hampshire (6-10-1, 5-2-0) on Thursday afternoon at Alumni Field. LaBelle, who was named the conference's Player of the Week on September 22, tucked a blast from 25 yards out inside the upper left-hand post for the score.
The Black Bears would earn the No. 4 seed with a win and a Hartford loss on Sunday and the No. 5 seed with a win and a Hartford tie (Hawks hold tiebreaker due to win over Boston U. in this scenario) or loss. The Hawks were idle Thursday after shutting out Bryant 3-0 in non-league action on Tuesday. UNH, which is idle on Sunday, has clinched a spot in the field, and can finish as high as second and as low as fourth.
Also on Thursday, Boston U. (12-5-1, 7-0-0) won its sixth straight and extended its unbeaten streak to 10 games with a 2-1 win over the Retrievers at UMBC Soccer Stadium. Marisha Schumacher-Hodge and Corie Halasz each scored for the Terriers, who clinched their fifth outright regular-season title in nine years. Brooke Piper found the back of the net for the Retrievers, who were eliminated from postseason consideration with the loss.
Vermont (4-11-1, 2-4-1) extended its unbeaten streak to three with a 2-1 win at Albany (3-16-0, 1-6-0 )at Varsity Field. Lexi Kaknes, the reigning America East Co-Player of the Week, scored her third goal in as many games for the Catamounts, who can clinch a bid to the conference tournament with a win or tie against Binghamton on Sunday. The Great Danes have been eliminated.
The Bearcats (6-8-1, 2-5-0) fell at Stony Brook (9-7-0, 5-2-0), 3-2, on Colleen McKenna's goal with just over five minutes remaining in regulation. McKenna was named the league's Rookie of the Week on Monday. The Seawolves will earn the No. 2 seed with a win or tie against the Black Bears on Sunday. They would be No. 3 with a loss along with a Hartford loss or tie and No. 4 with a Hawk win. Binghamton would clinch a tournament berth a win.
On the final day of the regular season, Maine travels to Stony Brook, Vermont host Binghamton, UMBC battles Albany and Boston University takes on Hartford.
The America East Championship gets underway Thursday with a pair of quarterfinal matches.
Stay tuned to AmericaEast.com for the Championship bracket, including matchups and schedule, following games on Sunday.
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