LOWELL, Mass. – UAlbany junior Alison Smisdom made sure the Great Danes wouldn’t be the second upset of day, scoring a tournament-record five goals as the #2 seed advanced to the #AEFH Championship to face #4 Cal, who beat #1 UMass Lowell 3-2 in double overtime.
California came back from a 2-0 deficit to force OT and Daniella Rhodes won it in the second overtime to lift the Golden Bears to their first-ever championship game appearance. Smisdom scored just 1:48 into the nightcap and UAlbany never trailed on the way to an impressive 8-1 win as the Great Danes reached their third straight title game.
#2 UAlbany will face #4 Cal on Sunday at 12 p.m. with the winner taking home the #AEFH Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Semifinal Recap
#4 California 3, #1 UMass Lowell 2 (2OT)
- The River Hawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 8:33 and nearly scored again but finished the first quarter with a 1-0 advantage.
- UMass Lowell pushed its lead to 2-0 2:38 into the second, but Daniella Rhodes answered for California five minutes later. She added one more at the end of the quarter to pull even 2-2 before the half.
- Neither team was able to break through in the second half, despite Cal holding a 11-5 shot advantage over that span.
- In the second overtime, Rhodes beat a pair of defenders and ripped a shot in the bottom of the cage to lift her team to victory.
- Tina Jolly made four saves in the loss, while Marie Oliemans took the loss as she allowed one goal and made four saves in 43:59.
#2 UAlbany 8, #6 Maine 1
- Smisdom scored just two minutes into the contest and the Great Danes added two more goals in the quarter for a 3-0 advantage.
- In the second half Charlotte Triggs made it 4-0, but Maine closed the gap to 4-1 at 40:26. The three-goal deficit was short-live as Smisdom made it 5-1 less than a minute later. Mara Kustes added another goal for a 6-1 lead after three periods.
- Smisdom scored twice in the final period to set new #AEFH Tournament records with ten points and five goals.
- UAlbany’s eight goals and victory by seven also set new conference tournament marks. Laura Behn did make five saves in the contest to keep the Black Bears at bay.
Stay up-to-date on the tournament by visiting Championship Central for streaming and live stats links as well as box scores, highlights and recaps following each round in addition to team information, tournament history and more.
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