ALBANY, N.Y. – No. 4 Vermont continued its impressive run with an outstanding defensive performance against top seed UAlbany while No. 2 New Hampshire exploded for five goals to set up Sunday’s #AEChampionship
In the opener, No. 2 New Hampshire jumped out to a 4-0 lead and held off a Maine surge to win 5-3 and secure its first berth in the #AEFH Championship since 2018. The Catamount defense earned its second straight shutout and became the second team this season to hold top seed UAlbany without a goal in its 1-0 victory.
It's Vermont’s second-ever #AEFH Tournament win as they seek the program’s first-ever league title on Sunday. The Wildcats are looking for the program’s first championship since 2013, when they finished off a four-peat. UNH won the regular season matchup between the two teams, 3-2 in overtime.
Sunday’s #AEFH Championship will air on ESPN+ at 12 p.m.
Semifinal Recap
No. 2 New Hampshire 5, No. 3 Maine 3
- The offense came early for the Wildcats, as Brecken Calcari redirected a shot out of the air for a 1-0 lead just 4:32 into the contest.
- UNH doubled their lead one minute later as Nicole Poulakis made move around the goalkeeper and lifted in into the back of the cage.
- Poulakis made it 3-0 at 21:41 and Kathelijne Knuttel extended the lead to 4-0 three minutes later.
- Kate Richardson got Maine on the board at 24:58 and Alexandra Sacker cut the deficit to just 4-2 at 26:18.
- The Black Bears added one more goal a minute later to trim it to just 4-3 before the half.
- Midway through the third, Faye Meijer doubled the UNH lead back up and the defense did the rest for the 5-3 victory .
- Abby Johnson made five saves to secure the win in net, while the Maine duo of Jayde Temby and Rozarie Mrazova were forced to make 11 saves in the loss.
No. 4 Vermont 1, No. 1 UAlbany 0
- The Catamounts converted on their first shot of the contest, as Sophia Lefranc dribbled into the shooting circle, by a defender and ripped a shot into the back of the cage for a 1-0 lead.
- Vermont kept up the pressure in the second quarter and out-shot UAlbany 5-0, forcing a pair of saves.
- In the third the Great Danes came out strong and got off three shots, but couldn’t break through. In the fourth UAlbany still couldn’t get a shot on target and pulled its goalkeeper midway through the period.
- The Catamount defense held strong and didn’t allow a shot on net, continually thwarting opportunities just inside the shooting circle.
- Merle Vaandrager finished with two saves in the win. The defense allowed just six shots which is tied for the fewest UAlbany had in a game this season.
- Vermont is the first #AEFH program to shut out UAlbany since Oct. 7, 2022 when the Great Danes fell 1-0 to Stanford, a span of 22 games.
- The Catamounts are the #AEFH first team since Stanford in 2019 to shut out its first two opponents in the #AEFH Tournament. The Cardinal came through to capture the 2019 Title over top seed Monmouth.
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.
Follow @AmericaEast on X (Formerly Twitter) and Instagram to get the real-time championship updates. Use the #AEChamps and #AEFH hashtags to join the conversation.
ABOUT AMERICA EAST
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference and its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
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