Vermont, UMBC To Play for #AEMLAX Title after Semifinal Wins
STONY BROOK, N.Y. – For the first time ever, Vermont and UMBC will play for the America East men’s lacrosse title after the two teams each rode strong defensive efforts to win their semifinal contests Thursday at Stony Brook’s Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.
The second-seeded Catamounts scored the game’s final four goals on their way to a 13-9 win over No. 3 UAlbany in the first semifinal of the day while the third-seeded Retrievers held No. 1 Stony Brook to only eight goals in a 14-8 victory in the nightcap.
Vermont 13, UAlbany 9
- With the game tied 9-9 early in the fourth quarter, Vermont (8-6) tallied the final four scores of the game to the advance to the league championship game for the second-straight year and the third time in four seasons.
- After the Catamounts took a 2-1 lead early in the first quarter, UAlbany ran off four-straight goals to take a 5-2 lead as Davis Diamond capped the run with his second score of the game 2:57 into the second quarter.
- The Catamounts scored four of the next five goals, including a pair by Dawes Milchling, who had a game-high four goals, to tie the game 6-6 before halftime.
- Second-team All-Conference selection Alex Semler scored his first goal of the season with 1:29 left in the half to tie it up before the break.
- America East Offensive Player of the Year Jakob Patterson scored the first goal of the third quarter before Vermont scored three straight as Rob Hudson scored with 3:14 left in the frame to give his team a 9-7 lead.
- UAlbany’s Ron John tied the game early in the fourth before the Catamounts ran off four in a row, including a pair by Milchling, who finished with six points in the game.
- In addition to his goal, Semler won 16-of-25 faceoffs.
- Vermont held UAlbany to just 1-of-9 on man-up opportunities.
- Thomas McConvey, an America East second-team, scored three times for Vermont.
- Diamond had three goals to lead UAlbany, which wrapped up its season 5-9.
UMBC 14, Stony Brook 8
- UMBC (6-8) held Stony Brook (9-6) to just eight goals en route to advancing to their first championship game since 2014.
- It's just the second time in the 20-year history of the tournament that the #4 seed has knocked off the #1 seed (Hartford, 2016).
- The Retrievers scored the game’s first three goals before Stony Brook’s Tom Haun got his team on the board with 2:53 left in the first quarter.
- UMBC then ran off all five third-quarter scores including a pair by Brett McIntyre, an America East All-Academic selection, and took an 8-1 lead into halftime.
- Steve Zichelli’s goal with 7:28 left in the third quarter stretched UMBC’s lead to 11-2.
- Haun scored again to cut the deficit to 11-4 before the end of the fourth quarter.
- But, UMBC, whose 14 goals were their second-highest output of the season, scored the first three goals of the fourth quarter to take a 14-4 lead and put the game away.
- The league leader in team goals against average, UMBC held Stony Brook to just eight goals and only 16 shots on the cage.
- UMBC had eight goal scorers led by McIntyre’s four, which were a game-high.
- UMBC’s Trevor Patschorke tallied a game-high five points on two goals and three assists.
- Haun’s three goals paced Stony Brook, the America East regular-season champion.
Vermont and UMBC will play for the conference title on Saturday at noon at LaValle Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Mike Corey (play-by-play) and Don Zimmerman (analyst) on the call.
Vermont will be making its third championship game appearance, all in the last four years, while UMBC is making its seventh and first since 2014.
Stay up-to-date on the tournament by visiting Championship Central for box scores and highlights from the semifinals and live coverage links for Saturday’s championship game as well as team information and more.
Follow @AmericaEast and @AEDigitalNet on Twitter to get the real-time championship updates. Use the #AEChamps and #AEMLAX hashtags to join the conversation.
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