The 2012 America
East Men's Lacrosse Championship gets underway with a pair of intriguing semifinal matchups tonight. Top-seeded Stony Brook hosts fourth-seeded Hartford in a rematch of last year's epic league title game in one
matchup while second-seeded UMBC entertains third-seeded Albany in the
other. The Seawolves and Hawks get started at 7 p.m. while the Retrievers and Great Danes begin at 7:30 p.m.
The two winners will advance to Saturday's championship game, which will air on ESPN3 at 3 p.m. and re-air on ESPNU Sunday at 10 a.m.
Stony Brook (5-9, 4-1 AE) captured its third straight regular-season title by virtue of its 12-11 win over Albany Saturday. The Seawolves, who lead America East allowing just 9.43 goals per game, are paced by first-team all-conference performers Sean Brady, Robbie Campbell, Jared LeVerne, Kyle Moeller and Jeff Tundo as well as the America East Rookie of the Year, Mike Rooney, who scored a team-best 30 goals during the regular season.
UMBC (5-7, 3-2 AE) got tripped up by Binghamton Saturday, but still earned the No. 2 seed due to its regular-season wins over Albany and Hartford. Winner of three of the last six conference crowns, the Retrievers will look to get back to the league final for the first time since 2009 after bowing out in the semifinals each of the last two seasons. First-team all-conference attacker Scott Jones, who ranks second in the league with 34 goals, will lead that charge.
Albany (4-10, 3-2 AE), which has won four conference titles but none since 2007, is back in the conference championship after missing out last season for the only time since it joined America East for the 2002 season. Winners of three of their last five games, the Great Danes are led by the America East Player of the Year Joe Resetarits, who leads the conference and ranks fifth nationally in both points per game (4.21 ppg, 59 total) and goals per game (2.93 gpg, 41).
Hartford (6-9, 3-2 AE) got into the tournament by registering wins in its last three conference games, including a pair of one-goal overtime decisions. The reigning league champion, which leads the conference averaging 12.50 goals per game, has a league-best seven all-conference honorees, including attacker Carter Bender and defender Scott Kessler, both first-team selections.
Both semifinal matchups are rematches of classic regular-season contests from just two weeks ago. UMBC roared back from five goals down late in the fourth quarter to beat Albany, 17-16 in overtime on April 21. Scott Jones and Matt Gregoire each had four goals. That same day, Hartford snapped Stony Brook's 18-game win streak against conference foes during the regular season with an 11-10 overtime win that same day.
This will be just the second time Stony Brook and Hartford have met in the conference championship. The Hawks beat the Seawolves 11-10 last season on Ryan Compitello's last-second goal to win the title. UMBC and Albany have met five times previously in the league tournament with the Great Danes holding a 3-2 edge. Albany has won both semifinal matchups played at UMBC Stadium, including an 11-7 win in 2010.
Tickets for the
two semifinal contests can be purchased in advance through the Stony Brook and UMBC ticket offices or at the gate tonight. Prices are $8 for adults, $5 for youth and
$2 for students of America East institutions with proper ID. Tickets
for the Stony Brook-Hartford semi can be purchased online
or by calling the box office at 631-632-WOLF (9653). Tickets for the Hartford-UMBC semi may be obtained online
or by calling the UMBCbox office at 410-455-2205.
Fans who can not attend the games, visit Championship Central
for live coverage links, including live video streaming (pay-per-view) and live stats.