CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Much was left to be decided
heading into the final day of the America East women's soccer regular season
and after an exciting day of action on Sunday, the league's championship
details are set with the quarterfinal round beginning on Thursday, October 25.
Hartford (10-4-3, 6-2-0 AE) was the only team that had a seed
clinched, and will be the No. 1 seed in the 2012 America East Women's Soccer
Championship. The Hawks will be joined by No. 2 seed Maine, No. 3 New
Hampshire, No. 4 Vermont, No. 5 Albany and No. 6 Stony Brook.
The championship begins with the quarterfinal round on Thursday,
October 25, with No. 4 Vermont hosting No. 5 Albany and No. 3 New Hampshire
hosting No. 6 Stony Brook. Hartford and Maine will host the semifinal rounds on
Sunday, October 28. The 2012 America East Women's Soccer Championship will be
decided on Sunday, November 4, at the highest remaining seed and will be
streamed live for free on AmericaEast.com.
Boston University (12-6-1, 8-0-0), which had already clinched the
America East regular-season title, finished its third-straight undefeated and
untied season in America East play with a, 1-0, win over New Hampshire. The
Terriers finished 8-0 and have won 32-straight games against America East
opponents.
Taylor Krebs provided the difference in the contest, scoring in
the 26th minute off a corner kick. Keeper Alyssa Parisi came up huge in the
second half, stopping a penalty kick by Kirstyn Corder that would have tied the
game in the 65th minute.
New Hampshire's (5-11-2, 3-4-1) loss, along with losses by Stony
Brook and Vermont and a win by Albany caused a four-team traffic jam tied with
10 points for the No. 3 seed and also allowed Maine the grab the No. 2 seed. It
is the first time the Black Bears will have a first-round bye since 2005. Maine
will host the winner of No. 3 seed New Hampshire and No. 6 seed Stony Brook in
the semifinal round on Sunday, October 29 at 1 p.m.
The Wildcats ended up with the No. 3 seed by coming out on top of
the four-team tiebreaker. In the tiebreak, both New Hampshire and Vermont were
2-1 while Albany and Stony Brook were 1-2. The Wildcats beat the Catamounts
head-to-head giving them the No. 3 seed and Vermont the No. 4 seed.
New Hampshire will host the No. 6 seed Seawolves on Thursday,
October 25 at 1 or 2 p.m.
Vermont (4-12-1, 3-4-1) dropped a, 2-1, decision to Binghamton at
home, with all three goals coming in the second half. The Bearcats tallied
twice in one-minute span, the first coming off the foot of Conor O'Brien in the
68th minute and the second coming from Sarah Furminger.
The Catamounts tried to climb back in with a late goal by Jess
Herbst, but it was not enough. Vermont will host No. 5 seed Albany on Thursday,
October 25 at 2 p.m.
Albany (6-10-2, 3-4-1) got a hat trick from Shayla Bergeron, just
the second in school history (both by Bergeron), to beat UMBC, 4-1. The Retrievers
struck first, with Preslie Quaranta scoring in the 15th minute. But then
Bergeron took over, scoring the next three for the Great Danes and helping them
lock-up the No. 5 seed. They will travel to No. 4 seed Vermont on Thursday,
October 25 at 2 p.m.
Stony Brook (3-4-1, 9-6-3) lost a heartbreaker, 2-1, in
double-overtime to Hartford. The Seawolves could have had the No. 2 seed with a
win or tie, and took an early lead on a Larissa Nysch goal in the sixth minute
of play.
Hartford tied the game in the early stages of the second half,
when Elise Galipo tapped in a cross by Caitlin Alves to knot the game at one
apiece.
After a scoreless first overtime, the Hawks' Shealagh Begley ended
the game by curling in a free kick from 35-yards out into the top-left corner to
give Hartford the, 2-1, win.
Visit America East's Championship Central throughout the tournament for
previews, links to in-game coverage and postgame reaction.
2012
America East Women's Soccer Championship
Quarterfinals
- Thursday, October 25
No. 5 Albany at No. 4 Vermont, 2 p.m.
No. 6 Stony Brook at No. 3 New Hampshire, 2 p.m.
Semifinals
- Sunday, October 28
Albany/Vermont winner at No. 1 Hartford, 2 p.m.
Stony Brook/New Hampshire winner at No. 2 Maine, 1 p.m.
Final
- Sunday, November 4
Semifinal Winners at Highest Remaining Seed, TBD