STONY BROOK, N.Y. - UMBC and Stony Brook will meet to determine the 2009 America East Men's Soccer champion on Sunday evening at LaValle Stadium at 5 p.m. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where an America East team has advanced to the second round in eight of the last nine years.
Tickets are
$8 at the gate for adults, $5 for children (14 and under) and $2 for
America East students with valid ID. For those who can't be in
attendance, free video streaming will be available at the all new AmericaEast.tv. Mike Solano will call the action and Bruce Bosley will provide the analysis.
Championship Primer
• Stony Brook and UMBC will meet for the America East men’s soccer title after being picked seventh and eighth, respectively, in the preseason coaches’ poll.
• The Seawolves are making their second title game appearance after capturing the 2005 conference crown, while the Retrievers will be playing in their first-ever America East title game. UMBC last played for a league championship in 2000 as a member of the Northeast Conference.
• Stony Brook is just 1-2-3 all-time in America East tournament play, but has advanced in four of its six contests. The Seawolves are 3-0 in penalty kick shootouts, including a 4-2 defeat over Binghamton in 2005 to capture the title.
• This is just the second time, and first since 2000, that neither championship game participant appeared in the previous year’s tournament. The last time it happened, Vermont downed Hofstra 2-1 to claim its first title since 1990.
• UMBC is just the second No. 5 seed to reach the championship game in the eight years the tournament has featured a six-team field. The only other time it happened Northeastern won two road games, including a semifinal contest over the top-seeded Retrievers, before falling to Binghamton on penalty kicks in the final in 2003.
• Both Stony Brook's and UMBC's success this season has come ahead of schedule. The two teams have just five combined seniors on their rosters and 15 of the 22 starters from Wednesday's semifinal games are freshman or sophomores.
• With one more
assist, UMBC’s Levi Houapeu will set an America East record for assists
in a season. The league’s Midfielder of the Year recorded his 13th in
his team’s semifinal win at UNH Wednesday to tie seven other atop the
league chart.
• Freshman goalkeeperAnthony Rogic's turnaround has keyed Stony Brook's success. An America East all-rookie selection, Rogic surrendered 13 scores in his first six starts as a collegian, but has allowed just two goals in his last six outings starts with a .933 save percentage and four shutouts leading the Seawolves to a 4-0-2 record over that stretch.
• With all the focus on UMBC's Levi Houapeu and Andrew Bulls, the nation's top scoring tandem, the Retrievers give much of the credit for their championship run to junior Chris Williams. The team is 12-2 this season with the center back in the lineup and went just 2-3 over a five-game stretch that Williams missed due to injury.