BOSTON - Top-seeded Boston University and sixth-seeded Maine will meet to decide the 2010 America East Women's Soccer champion on Saturday at Nickerson Field at 1 p.m. This will be the third time since 2003 these two teams will decide the title.
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, produced by Pack Network, will be available in the AmericaEast Zone at the new AmericaEast.com. Chris Villani (play-by-play) and former America East Goalkeeper of the Year Marisa Viola (color) will provide the analysis.
Championship Primer
• Boston U. and Maine are meeting for the fifth time in America East Championship play and will decide the league champion for the third time.
• The Terriers are 14-4-2 all time in the America East Championship with seven titles. The 14 wins and seven crowns ranks second in league history to Hartford, which is 15-4-3 with 10 titles. Both teams have a .750 win percentage in tourney play.
• The Black Bears are 5-5-6 in tournament play since 2002 after failing to reach any of the first eight conference tournament from 1994-2001. Maine reached four straight title games from 2003-2006, going 0-3-1 in those games, and is still seeking its first league title.
• Maine is the first No. 6 seed to ever qualify for the league title game. The only other instance where the lowest seed reached the final came in 1996, when Towson won the four-team tournament as the No. 4 seed.
• This game features the top two offenses in America East and the top three individual scoring leaders. Boston U. averages a league-best 2.25 goals per game while Maine ranks second averaging 1.35 goals per contest. The Terriers’ Lisa Kevorkian (13 G, 5 A) and Jessica Luscinski (10 G, 7 A) lead the league with 1.55 and 1.35 points per game, respectively. Maine’s Kelsey Wilson (8 G, 2 A) is third (1.06 ppg).
• The Terriers, who are 2-0-2 against the Black Bears in tournament play, captured the 2005 league crown with a 2-1 overtime victory. Boston U. needed penalty kicks to upend Maine for the title in 2003 and also posted a 1-0 semifinal victory in 2008.
• Maine is the last team to eliminate the Terriers from the America East Championship, which happened via penalty kicks after the two teams played to a scoreless tie in 2006.
• Boston U. is making its fourth straight America East Championship game appearance and seeking its eighth league title since 2000. The Terriers have never lost as the No. 1 seed in the America East Championship (11-0-1) with six titles. The Terriers have also never lost as regular-season champion (13-0-1) with seven championships and are 13-1-2 all-time at Nickerson Field in tournament play.
• The Terriers are unbeaten in 32 of their last 33 games against America East opponents and have won the last 10 all by shutout. They became the first team in league history to finish their league schedule unbeaten and untied without allowing a goal.
• Terrier head coach Nancy Feldman is the all-time America East leader with 14 championship victories and seven titles. Black Bear mentor Scott Atherley is 5-5-6 and brought teams to the league title game five times.
• Three championship game participants were selected to the ESPN Academic All-District I squad by CoSIDA this week. Boston U.’s Lina Cords and Jessica Luscinski and Maine’s Kelsey Wilson were all second-team choices.