ALBANY, N.Y. – In a tight back-and-forth matchup, it was the UAlbany defense which came up with two defensive stops in the final two minutes to hold off a fierce Binghamton squad 14-13 and capture the 2023 #AEWLAX Championship at home on Fallon Field Sunday afternoon.
The Great Danes took leads of 12-11 and 13-12 in the fourth quarter but the Bearcats answered back each time. Sarah Falk’s fifth goal with 2:50 left provided a 14-13 advantage and UAlbany was able to force one final turnover in the last 30 seconds and run out the clock for the program’s first championship since 2012.
With the win, UAlbany earns America East’s automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship and will learn its draw during the NCAA Selection Show, which takes place Sunday night at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
Katie Pascale was honored as the Most Outstanding Player after totaling 13 points and 19 draw controls over the two tournament games. She was held to just one assist on Sunday with five draws and two caused turnovers while being face guarded the entire contest.
UAlbany jumped out to a 3-1 lead after the first quarter, but Binghamton countered with a 5-1 run in the second to grab a 6-4 advantage. The Great Danes answered with the final two goals of the half for a 6-6 tie at the break.
The Great Danes threatened to pull away in the third, building an 11-7 lead with 1:09 remaining in the third, however, two goals for the Bearcats in the final minute cut the deficit to two. They added two more at the start of the fourth to tie the contest 11-11 and set up the dramatic final period.
Shonly Wallace added five goals for UAlbany, while Bryar Hogg had two goals and three assists. Grace Cincebox finished with nine saves in net, including six in the first quarter to keep her team from falling behind. Wallace, Falk and Cincebox were named to the All-Championship team, along with Pascale and Mackenzie Beam.
For Binghamton, Abigail Carroll led the team with three goals and one assist, while Hayley Weltner scored twice. Emily Manning made eight saves as all three were named to the All-Championship team.
UAlbany’s Kadi Futia was recognized as the America East Elite 18 award winner for having the highest GPA among student-athletes competing in the championship. The graduate student owns a 3.98 GPA.
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