ORONO, Maine – No. 2 seed UAlbany claimed its first America East Field Hockey Championship since 2018 in dramatic fashion Sunday on the campus of Maine. The Great Danes scored late in regulation to tie it and then came through with the 2-1 victory over No. 5 seed Stanford in a shootout.
Looking to avoid a second straight runner-up finish, the Great Danes were held off the board until the final three minutes of regulation, before they finally tied up the contest 1-1. The game went to overtime but both defenses withstood multiple penalty corners in the two overtimes to force a shootout.
UAlbany made both of its shootout attempts, but Stanford missed its second to give the Great Danes the edge. Alison Smisdom came through for a 3-1 advantage and the Cardinal were unable to convert another. Julie Rodijk proved the hero as she sank the team’s fourth attempt to set off the championship celebration.
The Great Danes punched their ticket to the NCAA Field Hockey Championship with the win and will learn their tournament fate during the NCAA Selection Show, which takes place tonight at 10 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
UAlbany Goalkeeper Hannah Mangan was named the Most Outstanding Player as she made six saves and came up huge in the penalty shootout to lift her team to victory.
Stanford grabbed a 1-0 lead at 21:44 as Caroline Guden redirected a shot by Cara Sambeth from the top of the circle. The Cardinal held UAlbany scoreless until the final three minutes, but Blanca Orsola evened the score at 1-1 with 57:24 remaining. Neither team scored in regulation or overtime, sending the contest to a shootout.
Stanford’s Isabelle Pilson was awarded the Elite 18 Award for owning the highest GPA among the student-athletes competing in the championship. The graduate student owns a 3.98 GPA while majoring in environmental systems engineering.
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