CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Boston University, Stony Brook University, UMBC and University at Albany will compete this week for the 2012 America East Women's Lacrosse Championship and for an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament's field of 16 teams. The seeds and bracket for the conference tournament were finalized following Saturday afternoon's regular-season conference finales.
All championship games will be held at Boston University's Nickerson Field in Boston, Mass. Semifinals will be played Thursday, May 3 beginning at 1 p.m. and will be streamed live at GoTerriers.com. The final begins at noon on Saturday, May 5 and will be available live nationally on ESPN3.
Boston U. (11-5) won the America East Regular Season Championship outright after an 18-16 win over Binghamton on the final weekend of play, and carries the top seed and hosting rights into the league tournament for the sixth time since 2000. The Terriers, who finished undefeated at 6-0 in America East play this year, are seeking their 10th conference crown and their eighth in nine seasons. Head Coach Liz Robertshaw led Boston U. to four straight titles from 2007-2010.
Looking to challenge the Terriers are the upstart Seawolves (13-4, 5-1 AE), who enter as the two seed. Stony Brook is making its first America East Championship appearance since 2007 when it won a share of the regular season title and hosted the tournament. With one of the nation's most potent offenses, the Seawolves are in search of their first-ever America East Championship Title.
UMBC (8-8), the three seed, finished out the regular season with a 7-6 win over 19th-ranked Johns Hopkins last Wednesday and completed the conference slate at 3-3. The Retrievers have once won the regular-season title (2006) and reached the league title game in each of the last two seasons, but have yet to hoist the America East tournament trophy.
Albany won at Vermont Saturday afternoon 12-10 for the final spot in the America East Championship. The defending conference champions went 3-3 in league play, 10-5 overall, and needed a win on the final weekend to qualify for the postseason. Ariana Parker and Jess Antelmi each tallied four points for the Danes in the win over the Catamounts to clinch the tournament berth.
Tickets to the 2012 America East Women's Lacrosse Championship are available at the Boston University Athletics Ticket Office. Groups of 10 or more can call 617-358-4170 for $2 tickets.
2012 America East Women's Lacrosse Championship
All games at Nickerson Field, Boston, Mass.
Thursday, May 3 - Semifinals
#4 Albany at #1 Boston U., 1 p.m.
#3 UMBC vs. #2 Stony Brook, 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 5 - Final
Semifinal winners, 12 noon (ESPN3)