CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The bracket for next week's 2014 America East Field Hockey Championship is set as the final league games were played on Friday. University at Albany, the nation’s 12th-ranked team, captured its first conference regular-season title since 2009 and will host the championship at its Alumni Turf Field starting Thursday. The Great Danes will welcome University of New Hampshire, University of Maine and Fairfield University, which locked up the final tournament bid Friday, to the Capital Region next week to crown an America East champion.
Albany, the top seed for the first time in five years, will host the fourth-seeded Stags in the first semifinal on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 1 p.m. while the second-seeded Black Bears will face the third-seeded Wildcats Thursday at 4 p.m. The two winners will meet for the America East title on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. The league champion will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament's field of 16 teams.
Albany (16-2, 5-0 AE) capped off its spectacular regular season with a 5-1 win over Vermont (2-15, 1-4 AE) Friday. Kelly Bonner scored twice and Paula Heuser, the nation’s top scorer, had a goal and an assist. In the midst of a program-record 10-game winning streak, the Great Danes beat No. 3 Stanford earlier this year and their only two losses came at the hands of ACC powerhouses Syracuse and Virginia by one goal. The regular-season title is Albany’s third all-time. It will be seeking its fourth league title in seven years.
New Hampshire (7-11, 4-1 AE) locked up the No. 2 seed with a 3-2 overtime win against Maine as Emma Compagna’s scored with 11:36 left in the extra session. The Wildcats, who have won two of the last three conference titles including last year’s, have won four of their last five games entering the tournament.
Maine (10-8, 3-2 AE) will be the No. 3 seed for the fourth-straight year. The Black Bears, who were nationally ranked earlier in the year, won eight-straight games at one point this season.
Fairfield (7-11, 2-3 AE) beat UMass Lowell (5-12, 0-5 AE) 3-2 in overtime to lock up a spot in the field for the third-straight year. Anna Burgoyne, whose 19 goals rank second in the league, scored the game winner in the extra session for the Stags.
The entire America East Championship will be streamed for free at AmericaEast.TV.
For complete tournament information, including the bracket, live coverage links, tournament history and more, visit Championship Central.
2014 America East Field Hockey Championship
All games at University at Albany’s Alumni Turf Field, Albany, N.Y.
Semifinals - Thursday, November 6
#1 Albany vs. #4 Fairfield, 1 p.m.
#2 New Hampshire vs. #3 Maine, 4 p.m.
Final - Saturday, November 8
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.