STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Stony Brook Seawolves are eight-time America East women’s lacrosse champions! The sixth-ranked team in the country continued its historic #AEWLAX streak with a 16-9 win over UAlbany on Saturday at LaValle Stadium.
The Seawolves will go to an eighth consecutive NCAA Championship and earned the right to host as a top-eight seed for the second time in the last three tournaments. They will take on Towson Friday, May 14 at noon on ESPN+.
Attacker of the Year Taryn Ohlmiller opened the scoring in the title game and Midfielder of the Year Ally Kennedy followed to make it 2-0 Seawolves. Sarah Falk scored the first goal for the Great Danes five minutes into the game. The score was 9-4 at halftime with both teams statistically even aside from Stony Brook’s 17-13 shot advantage. Kennedy had a first-half hat trick while both goalkeepers combined for nine saves.
UAlbany started the second frame strong as Madison Conway scored a woman-down goal one and-a-half minutes in and Sarah Falk following to close the deficit to three. The Seawolves had the answer, though, with three consecutive goals and the Great Danes never pulled within five.
Co-Defensive Player of the Year Rayna Sabella was active in her own zone early, interrupting three UAlbany passes in the first half alone. The senior finished with a game-high four caused turnovers while also scooping up four ground balls. She was key in forcing 13 Great Danes turnovers while the Seawolves limited their own to seven.
As she did in the semifinals, Kennedy again led the way in record-breaking fashion. Her fifth goal came with under three minutes left and gave her a record 12 goals in the tournament. She topped Kyle Ohlmiller’s previous mark of 11 while also breaking a tie with the all-time great for career goals. Kennedy was named the championship’s Most Outstanding Player.
Stony Brook goalkeeper Kameron Halsall made ten saves and joined Kennedy on the All-Championship Team. Taryn Ohlmiller collected a game-high six points on two goals and four assists as she and Kaeli Huff also earned spots on the team. UAlbany’s Conway led the Great Danes with four goals and earned All-Championship honors with teammates Kyla Zapolski and Georgia Schneidereith. UMBC’s Claire Bockstie and Megan Halczuk and Vermont’s Ava Vasile and Molly McDonough rounded out the team.
UAlbany grad student Jordyn Marr received the conference’s Elite 18 award. Marr graduated with a 3.96 GPA in business administration and sociology and currently has a 3.80 GPA pursuing her Master’s in psychology.
With the win, Stony Brook stretched its conference win streak to 54 games, the longest active streak of its kind across all Division I sports.
Stay up-to-date on the tournament by visiting Championship Central for box scores and recaps from championship action.
Follow @AmericaEast and @AEDigitalNet on Twitter to get the real-time championship updates. Use the #AEChamps and #AEWLAX hashtags to join the conversation.
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