STONY BROOK, N.Y. - For the fifth-straight year, Stony Brook and Albany will meet for the America East Women's Lacrosse title as the top-two seeds advanced with wins in Friday's semifinals. The Seawolves and Great Danes will decide the championship on Sunday at noon live on ESPN3.
The matchup marks the fifth time overall the two teams are playing for the championship, which is the second-most played title game in America East history. Boston U. and New Hampshire met seven times for the title, including five-straight times from 2002-06.
The top-two seeds are meeting in the finals for the 10th time, including four-straight seasons. All four of those matchups have been between Stony Brook and Albany. Prior to the stretch of four-straight, the top-two seeds had not met in the final since 2005. The No. 1 seed is 8-2 against the No. 2 seed. The last time a No. 2 seed beat a No. 1 seed was in 2002 when Boston U. beat New Hampshire.
Stony Brook’s Courtney Murphy set the America East single-season points record (104) and tied the single-season goals record (91) both set by Boston U’s Sarah Dalton in 2009. Her eight points in the semifinals were tied for the second-most in a tournament game.
Albany freshman Kaylee Rickert tied the America East tournament record by dishing out five assists in the semifinals.
The winner will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The NCAA selection show takes place Sunday night at 9 PM on NCAA.com