CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Just one game remains in the America East women's soccer
season, as No. 1 seed Hartford hosts No. 6 seed Stony Brook for the
conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The game will be played at
Hartford's Al-Marzook Field in West Hartford, Conn.
The game will be broadcast live for free on AmericaEast.com
at 3 p.m. ET. Brian Irizarry will have the call.
Championship Facts
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With Hartford advancing to the finals, the No. 1
seed in the America East Championship has made it to the title game every year
except for 1996 (18 of 19 years).
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The No. 1 seed has won the title in 16 of the 18
total America East Championships. The last time the No. 1 seed did not win the
title was in 2007, when No. 2 seed Boston University defeated No. 1 New
Hampshire. Prior to that, No. 4 seed Towson beat No. 3 Delaware in 1996.
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This is just the second time the No. 6 seed has
advanced to the finals, with both times occurring in the last three years.
Maine was the only other team to do it in 2010, falling to No. 1 Boston U.
How They Got Here
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Stony Brook won a pair of 2-1 road games to
advance to the championship.
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The Seawolves defeated No. 3 New Hampshire with
goals from Sa'sha Kershaw and Larissa Nysch in the first half. Both tallies
came off set pieces.
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Stony Brook then battled back from an early,
1-0, deficit at No. 2 Maine to beat the Black Bears, as Sarah Darmanin scored
her first career goal with seven minutes left to break a 1-1 tie.
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Hartford had a first round bye as the No. 1
seed, and beat No. 4 Vermont, 2-0, in the semifinals.
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Amelia Pereira scored the first goal and
assisted on the second, while Erin Quinlan recorded the shutout in net.
Hartford in the
Championship
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The Hawks are 16-5-3 all-time in the America East
Championship and have qualified for the Championship in 16 of the 19 seasons
they have been eligible.
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Hartford is making its 10th appearance in the
title game, winning the championship seven times in the history of the program.
The last time the Hawks won was in 2006.
Stony Brook in the
Championship
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The Seawolves are 5-5-1 in America East Championship
play and are playing in the sixth tournament in their 12th year in the league.
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Stony Brook is making just its third appearance
in the title game and is looking for its first America East Championship. The
Seawolves last played in the title game in 2008 where they lost to Boston U.
Stony Brook vs.
Hartford in the America East Championship
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Stony Brook and Hartford are meeting for just
the second time in tournament play.
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The first meeting came in the 2002 title game,
with Hartford winning 4-0.
Tale of the Tape
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The game pits two of the best offenses in the
league against each other. Stony Brook leads the conference in goals per game
at 1.75, while Hartford ranks third at 1.72.
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The Hawks also lead the conference in goals
against average at 0.69 goals per game.
Scouting the
Seawolves
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Larissa Nysch has paced the Seawolves' offense,
ranking third in the conference with 19 points (8 goals, 3 assists). Nysch has
a goal and an assist so far in the America East Championship, scoring the
game-winner at New Hampshire and assisting on the game-winner at Maine.
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Keeper Ashley Castanio has been outstanding
during the championship, leading the conference with 8.5 saves per game.
Scouting the Hawks
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The Hawks boast two America East major award
winners in Striker of the Year Amelia Pereira and Goalkeeper of the Year Erin
Quinlan.
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Pereira leads the conference with a total of 13
goals and 33 points this season. She ranks 17th in the nation in points per
game (1.83) and is tied for seventh in game-winning goals with six.
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Quinlan leads the conference in goals against
average (0.692).