Albany and Stanford field hockey, two programs that combined for three NCAA Championship wins last year, will look for even more success starting on Saturday when the first round of the tournament begins. The Great Danes, which won their second-straight America East title last week, will face Boston College at UConn while the Cardinal, which received one of eight at-large bids to the tournament, will face Duke at Virginia. Both games start at 2 p.m.
It's the sixth time overall, but the first since 2000, two America East field hockey programs will play in the NCAA tournament. America East is joined the ACC and Big Ten as the only conferences to send multiple teams to the tournament.
Albany (19-2), the nation's eighth-ranked team, is making its fifth all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and second in as many years. Last year, the Great Danes became just the third America East team to reach the Final Four as they beat Wake Forest and Maryland before falling to eventual national champion, UConn, 1-0, in the national semifinals.
Stanford (12-6) is making its sixth NCAA appearance in the last seven years, The Cardinal, which beat Louisville in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year, beat the Blue Devils earlier this season, 3-2 in overtime, on August 30.