General

Action Packed Spring Season Gets Underway This Weekend

An unprecedented spring season officially kicks off this weekend with several America East teams in action across seven sports, including #6 Stony Brook visiting #1 North Carolina on Sunday in a matchup of two of the top-ranked women’s lacrosse teams in the country.

Other teams in action include UMBC men’s soccer, UNH women’s soccer and Stony Brook men’s lacrosse opening their seasons at home. Fans will once again be able to watch the majority of America East home games this year. Select games will air on The AE on ESPN while others will air on AmericaEast.TV. Those games will be available on computers, OTT devices and the brand new America East app, which is available on all IOS and Android devices and can be found by searching ‘America East Conference’ in app stores.

Preseason polls were announced in seven America East sports this week with field hockey scheduled for next week. Stony Brook was tabbed the preseason favorite in five of the seven polls. Here is a summary of the polls with links to the full releases, which include information about the season, and composite schedules.

Women’s Lacrosse
For the ninth-straight season, Stony Brook is the America East women’s lacrosse preseason favorite as the conference unveiled its 2021 preseason poll Tuesday. The Seawolves, who are ranked sixth nationally heading into the season, were a unanimous selection.

2021 America East Women’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll
No.        School                  Points (1st Place Votes)
1.           Stony Brook                      49 (7 - unanimous)
2.           UAlbany                            43 (1)
3.           New Hampshire                 34
4.           UMBC                               30
5.           Vermont                           26
6.           Binghamton                      21
7.           UMass Lowell                    14
8.           Hartford                             7       

Full #AEWLAX Poll Release
#AEWLAX Composite Schedule


Men’s Lacrosse
In a tight race with just nine points separating the top four teams, Stony Brook was tabbed the 2021 America East men’s lacrosse preseason favorite as the league’s preseason coaches’ poll was unveiled Tuesday.

2021 America East Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll
No.        School                  Points (1st Place Votes)
1.           Stony Brook                           44 (4)
2.           UAlbany                                 43 (2)
3.           UMBC                                    38 (2)
4.           Vermont                                 35
5.           UMass Lowell                          23
6.           Hartford                                 20
7.           Binghamton                           14
8.           NJIT                                       7
 
Full #AEMLAX Poll Release
#AEMLAX Composite Schedule


Men’s Soccer
Winner of the last two America East men’s soccer titles, New Hampshire has been selected the league’s preseason favorite for the spring, 2021 season per the preseason coaches’ poll. Full Poll:

Spring 2021 America East Men’s SoccerPreseason Poll
No.        School                  Points (1st Place Votes)
1.           New Hampshire                    63 (7)
2.           Vermont                               52
3.           UAlbany                               48 (2)
4.           NJIT                                    40
5.           Hartford                                37
6.           UMass Lowell                        34
7.           UMBC                                   25
8.           Stony Brook                          14
9.           Binghamton                          11
 
Full #AEMSOC Poll Release
#AEMSOC Composite Schedule
 

Women’s Soccer
Reigning America East women’s soccer champion Stony Brook is the league’s preseason favorite for the spring 2021 season per the preseason coaches’ poll. Full Poll:
 
Spring 2021 America East Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll
No.        School                  Points (1st Place Votes)
1.           Stony Brook                           81 (9)
2.            Hartford                                70 (1)
3.            UAlbany                                58
4.           UMass Lowell                          53
5.           New Hampshire                      50
6.           Binghamton                            47
7.           NJIT                                       35
8.           Maine                                     26
9.           Vermont                                  20
10.         UMBC                                     10
 
Full #AEMSOC Poll Release
#AEWSOC Composite Schedule
 

Baseball
Stony Brook  – winners of the most recent championship – were tabbed the 2021 #AEBASE favorite by the league’s head coaches. Full poll:

2021 America East Baseball Preseason Poll
No.       School             Points (1st Place Votes)
1.         Stony Brook             46 (6)
2.         Binghamton             41 (1)
            Hartford                  41 (1)
4.         UAlbany                  27
5.         UMass Lowell           24
6.         NJIT                        20
7.         UMBC                      13
8.         Maine                      12 

Full #AEBASE poll release
#AEBASE Composite Schedule
 

Softball
Stony Brook, which got off to a 10-4 start a year ago before the season was halted, is the 2021 America East softball preseason favorite. Full poll:

2021 America East Softball Preseason Poll
No.        School                  Points (1st Place Votes)
1.           Stony Brook                     35 (5)
2.           UMass Lowell                    30 (1)
3.           UMBC                               26 (1)
4.           UAlbany                            20
5.           Binghamton                      19
6.           Maine                                9
7.           Hartford                            8

Full #AESB poll release
#AESB Composite Schedule
 

Volleyball
UAlbany, the 2019 conference champion, was tabbed the Spring 2021 America East volleyball preseason favorite as the league’s preseason coaches’ poll was unveiled Wednesday afternoon.

2021 America East Women’s Volleyball Preseason Poll
No.        School                  Points (1st Place Votes)
1.           UAlbany                                  33 (4)
2.            Hartford                                  28 (3)
3.            Stony Brook                             27
4.            New Hampshire                        24
5.            UMBC                                      17
6.            Binghamton                             10
7.            NJIT                                         8

Full 2021 #AEVB Schedule
#AEVB Composite Schedule