BOSTON – The Stony Brook Seawolves captured their third-straight America East regular season title and will host the 2015 America East Women's Lacrosse Championship May 1 and 3 as the conference season came to a close on Saturday. The No. 1 seeded Seawolves are joined by No. 2 seed University at Albany, No. 3 University of Vermont and No. 4 UMBC. The winner of the 2015 America East Championship will earn the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Championship.
All championship games will be held at Stony Brook’s Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium in Stony Brook, N.Y. Semifinals will be played Friday, May 1 beginning at 5:00 p.m. and will be streamed live for free on AmericaEast.TV. No. 1 Stony Brook and No. 4 UMBC will start things off at 5 p.m., followed by No. 2 Albany vs. No. 3 Vermont at 7:30 p.m. The final begins at noon on Sunday, May 5 and will be available live nationally on ESPN3.
Tournament spots and seeding were still up for grabs heading into the final day of the season on Saturday. Stony Brook was the only team locked-in at the No. 1 spot. Albany clinched the No. 2 seed with a, 20-5, win over UMBC behind 11 points from Maureen Keggins. Vermont earned a, 12-10, victory over New Hampshire to earn a spot in the tournament and jumped into the No. 3 seed. UMBC had clinched a spot heading into the weekend and stands at No. 4 after the loss to Albany.
Stony Brook (16-1, 6-0) is the first team in America East history to earn the No. 1 seed and right to host the tournament in three-straight seasons. The Seawolves enter the tournament with their highest national ranking in program history at No. 5 in Inside Lacrosse and No. 6 in the IWLCA Coaches' Poll. The team boasts one of the best defenses in the country, allowing just 5.50 goals per game. The offense is led by one of the best freshmen in the nation, Kylie Ohlimiller, who averages 4.00 points per game.
Albany (13-3, 5-1) has earned a spot in the tournament for the seventh-straight season. The Great Danes rank fifth in the country and first in the conference, scoring 14.53 points per game, with senior Maureen Keggins leading the conference with 4.93 points per game. Albany is looking for its first tournament title since winning back-to-back championships in 2011 and 2012.
Vermont (11-6, 4-2) needed a win on Saturday to qualify for the tournament and got past rival New Hampshire, 12-10, to make the tournament for the third-straight season. Jessica Roach leads the Catamounts and is second in the conference at 3.60 goals per game.
UMBC (8-8, 3-3) had clinched its first appearance in the tournament since 2012 heading into the weekend and finished fourth with a 3-3 conference mark.
The 2015 America East Championship begins Friday, May 1 with the semifinals at 5 p.m. No. 1 Stony Brook will face No. 4 UMBC followed by No. 2 Albany and No. 3 Vermont. The semifinals will be available free on AmericaEast.TV while the finals will be broadcast nationally on ESPN3 at noon on Sunday, May 3.
2015 America East Women's Lacrosse Championship
All games at LaValle Stadium, Stony Brook, N.Y.
Friday, May 1 - Semifinals
#4 UMBC at No. 1 Stony Brook - 5 p.m.
#3 Vermont vs. #2 Albany - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 3 - Final
Semifinal winners, 12 noon (ESPN3)