ORONO, Maine – #3 UAlbany and #4 Cal advanced on the opening day of the 2021 #AEFH Championship with wins in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
The Golden Bears capitalized on a late fourth-quarter penalty stroke to earn a 2-1 victory over #5 UNH and the Great Danes followed by scoring the lone goal against #6 Stanford to take down the reigning champions.
The Golden Bears will take on regular-season champion and the tournament’s top seed, Maine, in the semifinals at 12 p.m. ET Friday. The Great Danes earned the right to play #2 Monmouth in the following game at 3 p.m.
Quarterfinals Recap
#4 Cal 2, #5 UNH 1
- Cal junior Megan Connors opened the scoring in the eighth minute of play, dribbling around multiple defenders before sending it over the shoulder of goalkeeper Jemma Woods.
- Facing a 1-0 deficit in the second half, UNH junior Ava Mariani evened the scored in the 37th minute assisted from Isabelle Danahy.
- With barely more than three minutes remaining in regulation, Connors was driving in the circle when she was tripped up by the Wildcats defense, resulting in a penalty stroke.
- Brynn Zorilla took the shot and buried it to give the Golden Bears the lead for good.
- Woods finished with 10 saves and her counterpart, Cato Knipping, saved six Wildcats shots on goal.
#3 UAlbany 1, #6 Stanford 0
- All-Rookie selection Floor de Ruiter scored in the 24th minute, proving to be the difference.
- Following one of only three Great Danes penalty corners, de Ruiter sent a high shot into the cage.
- Stanford earned one penalty corner attempt in the game.
- All-Rookie and Second-Team All-Conference choice Cara Sambeth made just her third career start in cage, making six saves.
- UAlbany’s All-Rookie goalie Lara Behn saved four shots for her first career shutout.
Stay up-to-date on the tournament by visiting Championship Central for streaming and live stats links. After the game, visit for box scores, highlights and recaps following the semifinals in addition to team information, tournament history and more. Follow @AmericaEast and @AEDigitalNet on Twitter to get the real-time championship updates. Use the #AEChamps and #AEFH hashtags to join the conversation.
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