Over the first 25 years of the 21^st century the America East has thrived. The league has four national championships to its name, along with a multitude of NCAA victories and memorable conference championship moments. To celebrate the America East’s success, the league compiled a list of the top 25 moments from the past 25 years. These moments range from the spring of 2001 to the fall of 2025, featuring a variety of sports and schools.
 
The league will release five moments a day, in no particular order, beginning on Dec. 23 and continuing on Dec. 24, 26, 29 and Dec. 30. Descriptions of the events and links to rewatch the moments will be added below each day.
 

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December 30

Vermont Wins 2024 Men’s Soccer National Championship

• The unseeded Catamounts captured the first team championship in league history with a 2-1 overtime victory over #13 Marshall. Vermont took down #7 Hofstra (2-1), San Diego (1-0), #2 Pitt (2-0) and #3 Denver (1-1, 4-3 PK’s) to advance to the championship.
• Vermont trailed 1-0 in the championship, but scored in the 81^st minute to draw even with Marshall. Maximillian Kissel scored the game-winning goal off an assist from Zach Barrett in the 95^th minute to set off the celebration.
• Kissel was named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player while Niklas Herceg was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Vermont finished the year 16-2-6 and ranked No. 1 in the nation with the top RPI in the entire country. It marked the first national championship for an America East team.

 
Stony Brook Women & UAlbany Men Lacrosse Both Ranked No. 1 in 2018

• In the spring of 2018 the lacrosse world was dominated by the America East, as Stony Brook women’s lacrosse and UAlbany men’s lacrosse both held the No.1 national ranking simultaneously from Feb. 26 – April 9.
• UAlbany lost its first game of the year to UMBC on April 6 and finished the regular season 14-2 and America East Champions. Tewaaraton finalist Connor Fields then led the Great Danes to the NCAA Semifinals, finishing the season with 34 goals and 52 assists.
• Stony Brook finished the regular season without a loss and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals. The Seawolves fell 12-11 in overtime to Boston College, concluding their season with a 20-1 overall record. Tewaaraton finalist Kylie Ohlmiller concluded her career as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history with 498 career points (252g, 246a). Teammate Courtney Murphy concluded her career with 341 goals.

 
Walk-Off Grand Slam Propels Binghamton to 2016 #AEBASE Championship

• Top seed Binghamton mounted an all-time comeback in the bottom of the ninth inning of its second game of the 2016 #AEBASE Championship with a walk-off grand slam and then captured the conference title a day later.
• Entering the bottom of the ninth, top seed Binghamton trailed No. 2 Hartford 6-0. Each of the first three runners reached base safe and the Bearcats slowly cut the deficit to 6-5 with just one out. Jason Agresti, who walked to lead off the inning, bashed a walk-off grand slam for 9-6 victory.
• The Bearcats took down No. 3 Stony Brook 6-3 to capture their third title in the four seasons. In the NCAA Tournament they fell 4-2 to Texas A&M and then 8-5 to Minnesota, finishing the year with a 30-25 overall record.

 
UMass Lowell Wins Thrilling 2023 Indoor Track & Field Championship by 0.5 Points

• Looking for the program’s first women’s track & field championship, UMass Lowell had a performance for the ages in February 2023. The team dominated the distances events and escaped with a 0.5 point victory after the final event concluded to end UAlbany’s streak of nine straight indoor titles.
• The River Hawks led UAlbany by 1.5 points going the final two events of the meet. The 4x800 relay won for a 5.5 point lead, taking the lead in the final meters. In the last event, the 4x400, UMass Lowell was in the first heat and finished second after UAlbany. The River Hawks only could have two teams finish faster  than them in the final heat and their time of 3:54.83 held on for 4^th overall in the event and the 0.5 point victory.
• The win for UMass Lowell was the closest track & field championship in league history and it snapped UAlbany’s streak of 22 consecutive track and field titles between indoor and outdoor. Emily Sessa was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the Meet winning individual golds in the 1000 and 1-mile, as well as in the 4x800 and the DMR.

UAlbany Volleyball Sweeps Cleveland State in NCAA First Round

• UAlbany secured the lone volleyball NCAA Tournament victory of the 21^st century with an impressive 3-0 sweep of Cleveland State at Rec Hall for their 24^th victory of the year.
• The Great Danes upset top seed Stony Brook 3-1 in the #AEVB Championship to win its second straight title. In the NCAA Tournament, UAlbany won the first two sets 30-20 and 30-20 before a 20-25 victory in the final set to secure the victory. Valerie Sourbeer had 11 kills while Kamisha Kellam added seven kills and seven blocks.
• UAlbany fell to eventual national champion Penn State 30-15, 30-9, 30-19 to conclude the season with a 24-10 record. The Great Danes won five #AEVB tournament titles in six years from 2006-2011, capturing five regular season over that span as well.

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December 29

Stony Brook’s Lucy Van Dalen Wins 1-Mile in 2012 Indoor Track & Field Championship

• Lucy Van Dalen stormed past Jordan Hasay in the final 10 meters of the 1-mile race to capture Stony Brook’s first national championship in 2012.
• Van Dalen was seeded first after the prelims but trailed most of the race before her final push in the home stretch to capture her lone NCAA Championship in a decorated career.
• She was a six-time All-American, earning honors in cross country, indoor track & outdoor track. Van Dalen went on to represent her native New Zealand in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

 
UMBC Men’s Soccer Advances to 2014 College Cup

• UMBC took down No. 12 Creighton in penalty kicks to advance to the program’s first-ever College Cup after dispatching Wake Forest, No. 4 Maryland and No. 13 Louisville to reach the quarterfinals.
• The Retrievers and Creighton played to a 0-0 draw in the quarterfinals and the game went into penalty kicks, where UMBC advanced 4-3 on penalty kicks. UMBC fell 1-0 to eventual champion Virginia in the semifinals.
• UMBC finished its impressive campaign with a 14-6-5 record as head coach Pete Caringi was selected as the NSCAA National Coach of the Year. It capped off an impressive run of three straight America East Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances for the Retrievers.

 
UAlbany Men’s Basketball Wins 2015 America East Championship in Last Seconds

• Peter Hooley connected on a three-pointer with just 1.6 seconds left in regulation to lift UAlbany to a 51-50 victory over Stony Brook in the 2015 America East Championship.
• The Great Danes trailed 47-40 with 2:50 left in regulation, but managed to come back and trail just 50-48 with 14 seconds left. Ray Sanders missed with four seconds left by Hooley collected the long rebound and fired home the game-winner. Sam Rowley finished with14 points and seven rebounds in the win.
• Hooley’s shot came after he missed three weeks earlier in January to travel home to his native Australia to be with his mom, who ultimately passed away due to cancer. The shot capped a third straight c

 
Vermont & Bryant Face Off for #AEMSOC Championship, Ranked No. 2 & No. 5

• For the first time in league history a pair of teams faced off when both teams were ranked in the top-five nationally, as No. 5 Bryant played at No. 2 Vermont on Nov. 13 in the #AEMSOC Championship.
• Vermont earned the 2-0 victory for its second straight conference title and became the first America East program, regardless of sport, to earn the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament just a day later. The Catamounts entered the NCAA Tournament on a 29-game unbeaten streak and at 14-0-5.
• Bryant was ranked as high as No. 2 during the regular season and finished at No. 10 in the final poll of the season after reaching the NCAA Third Round and falling to Saint Louis 3-2 in OT. Vermont was upended in the Second Round and finished the year ranked 13^th.

 
UAlbany Softball Wins 2014 Championship Behind Extra Inning Walk-Off Homer

• In the 2014 #AESB Championship, UAlbany came back from a 2-0 deficit in the bottom of the 10th to stun top seed Stony Brook and force a deciding final game which the Great Danes won 8-1 to win the conference championship
• Stony Brook was on the verge of its second straight title, leading 2-0 in the bottom of the 10^th with two outs and one runner on base. However, UAlbany loaded the bases and Elizabeth Snow hit a walk-off homer to force an if necessary game.
• The Great Danes never trailed in the deciding game, leading 2-0 after the 1^st and 6-0 after six on the way to an 8-1 victory in the championship. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they fell 1-0 to Wisconsin before beating Utah Valley 4-3. Another loss to the Badgers ended their season.

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December 26
 
UAlbany Men’s Lacrosse Advances to 2018 Championship Weekend

• The Great Danes became the second men’s lacrosse program to reach championship weekend, as they took down Denver 15-13 in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals.
• UAlbany finished the regular season 12-2 and 5-1 in conference play, before taking down UMass Lowell 15-10 and then Vermont 14-14 in the championship. In the NCAA Tournament the Great Danes beat Richmond 18-9 prior to their 15-13 victory over Denver.
• They fell to eventual champion Yale in the semifinals, capping off an impressive 16-3 season in which the team was ranked No. 1 in the country much of the season and had three players named First-Team All-Americans

 
Boston U. Women’s Soccer Takes Down No. 13 UConn in 2005 NCAA Tournament

• The Terriers earned the program’s second-ever NCAA Tournament victory with a 1-0 double overtime victory at No. 13 UConn on Ashley Chassar’s goal.
• The Terriers fell to Harvard 1-0 in the Second Round, snapping their 12-game unbeaten streak, but finished the year 14-5-4 overall and received votes in the final United Soccer Coaches Poll.
• BU reached the NCAA Tournament after outlasting Maine 2-1 in double overtime in the #AEWSOC Championship and beating UNH 2-1 in overtime of the #AEWSOC Semifinals. The Terriers won nine tournament championships from 2000 to 2011.

 
Vermont Men’s Basketball Wins 2003 Championship In Final Seconds

• David Hehn hit a turnaround jumper on the baselines with just five seconds left to give the Catamounts a 56-55 lead at BU and a last-second shot by the Terriers was off, as Vermont captured its first-ever men’s basketball championship.
• Hehn finished with five points in the contest, while Matt Sheftic led the Catamounts with 23 points and six rebounds. Taylor Coppenrath had nine points and four rebounds.
• The championship marked the first for UVM in its 23^rd year as a member of the conference. Vermont has captured 10 more conference titles since that first one in 2003 and appeared 15 of the 25 conference championship games this century.

 
UAlbany Women’s Basketball Takes Down Florida in NCAA First Round

• The No. 12 Great Danes wouldn’t be denied, coming back from an 11-point deficit in the final 7:30, to stun No. 5 Florida 61-59 for the team’s first NCAA Tournament victory.
• UAlbany held Florida scoreless for over 7:00 to complete the comeback, led by Imani Tate’s 28 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists. Shereesha Richards added 14 points for UAlbany.
• The Great Danes fell to Syracuse 76-59 in the Second Round but finished the year at 28-5. It marked their fifth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and was part of a run of six straight America East Championships, the longest streak for any men’s or women’s team in league history.

 
Noelle Lambert Returns to the Field in 2018 for UMass Lowell Women’s Lacrosse

• Noelle Lambert returned to the UMass Lowell women’s lacrosse team to score in an NCAA Division I game less than two years following a horrific moped accident.
• After starting 17 games as a freshman and scoring 15 goals, Lambert had her most of her left leg amputated following a moped accident. She came all the way back and with the aid of a prosthetic leg to score a goal in 2018 and appear in eight games over her final two seasons at UMass Lowell.
• Lambert is now a two-time Paralympian with top-six finishes in the T63 100 meters and T63 long jump. At the 2025 Word Championships, she took bronze in the T63 long jump.

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December 24

New Hampshire’s Elle Purrier Wins 1-Mile in 2018 Indoor Track & Field Championship

• Ellie Purrier took home the national championship in the 1-mile race at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, winning by less than a tenth of a second.
• The top seed in the event, Purrier held off a late push from Colorado’s Dani Jones to capture her first and only NCAA National Title. Purrier finished in the top-five at the NCAA Championships five different times in her career.
• Purrier went on to represent the United States in the Olympics in 2020 and 2024, while also claiming gold in the 3K at the 2024 World Indoor Championship. Her time of 8:20.87 is currently the American Record

 
Stony Brook Baseball Reaches 2012 College World Series

• The Seawolves went on one of the most impressive runs in college baseball history, capped off by taking two straight games from baseball powerhouse LSU in Baton Rouge to advance to the league’s first College World Series.
• Stony Brook, beat No. 1 Miami in its first NCAA Regional game but was forced to come out of the losers bracket in the regional final, taking down UCF twice, 12-5 & 10-6. In the Super Regionals against host LSU, the Seawolves dropped the opener 5-4 in 12 innings, but rebounded to capture the final two games 3-1 and 7-2 to complete the improbably comeback.
• In the College World Series, they fell to No. 2 UCLA and then No. 3 Florida State to finish the year with an America East 52-15 record. Head coach Matt Senk was named NCBWA National Coach of the Year while was Travis Jankowski named ABCA/Rawlings National Co-Player of the Year.

 
Lyle & Miles Thompson of UAlbany Men’s Lacrosse Win Tewaaraton Award in 2014

• Brothers Lyle and Miles Thompson became the first co-winners of the Tewaaraton Award and also the first Native Americans to take home Lacrosse’s highest Player of the Year honor.
• The duo led UAlbany to a 12-6 overall record, with four of those goals by a single goal, including a 14-13 defeat to national runner-up Notre Dame in the Semifinals.
• Lyle ranked No. 1 in the nation in points with 128 (51g, 77a), while Miles was second in the nation with 119 points (82g, 37a). Lyle’s 128 points are still the most ever in a single season in NCAA history, while Miles’ 82 goals are tied for the most in a single season in NCAA history.

 
Vermont Men’s Basketball Beats Syracuse in 2005 NCAA First Round

• Vermont men’s basketball captured its first NCAA Tournament victory with a dramatic 60-57 overtime victory against Syracuse in the NCAA First Round, the league’s first MBB NCAA victory since 1996.
• The Catamounts got 20 points, five assists, 4 steals and nine rebounds from Germain Mopa Njila, while TJ Sorrentine hit a back-breaking three in overtime to put the game out of reach.
• Vermont fell to Michigan State 72-61 in the Second Round finishing the year 25-7. The Catamounts had reached the NCAA Tournament with a 76-65 win over Binghamton in the conference championship. The Michigan State loss marked the final games for TJ Sorrentine and Taylor Coppenrath.

 
UMBC’s Emily Escobedo Takes Third in 2017 NCAA Swim & Dive Championship

• The best swimmer in league history, Emily Escobedo put it all together in the 2017 NCAA Championship, taking third in the 200 breaststroke for First-Team All-America honors.
• Escobedo’s time of 2:05.20 was the eighth-fastest in the history of the event at the time of the swim. She also took 9^th in the 100 breast (58.48) and 11^th in the 200 IM (1:55.13) to earn Second-Team All-America honors in both events, Her total of 30 points was good enough for UMBC to place 24^th in the nation with just her point total.
• Escobedo was named the league’s Most Outstanding Swimmer of the champion meet all four years she competed and eventually went on to compete in the 2021 Olympic Trials, taking 3^rd in the 200 breast, and then won gold in the 2021 FINA Short Course Swimming World Championships.

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December 23
 
UMBC Men’s Basketball Shocks No. 1 Virginia in 2018 NCAA Tournament

• UMBC became the first No. 16 Seed to beat a No. 1 Seed in the Men’s Basketball NCAA Tournament, stunning top overall seed Virginia with a dominant 74-54 victory.
• The Retrievers, fresh off a last second victory in the America East Championship over Vermont, were tied with Virginia 21-21 at the half, but hit seven threes in the second half and outscored Viriginia 53-33 oven the final 20 minutes to blow open a close contest.
•  Jairus Lyles led four players in double figures with 28 points while Arkel Lamar added 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Retrievers fell to Kansas St. in the Second Round 50-43, but were down by just one point with six minutes left in regulation.

Binghamton’s Rory Quiller Claims Pole Vault Title at 2008 Indoor Track & Field Championship

• Quiller gave Binghamton its first-ever national champion as a Division I school as he cleared the bar on his final attempt at 18-feet, one half inch to claim the title.
• The victory marked a dominant run for Quiller who finished as a three-time America East champion in the event and still owns the America East indoor pole vault record at 17’8.75”.
• Quiller was a three-time All-American with second and fourth place finishes at the NCAA Championships, in addition to his title. He was honored on campus on the 15th anniversary of his national championship. 

  
UAlbany Field Hockey Reached 2014 Final Four

• The Great Danes took down No. 5 Wake Forest 2-1 and then No. 2 Maryland 2-1 to reach the program’s first National Semifinal, led by National Player of the Year Paula Heuser.
• Playing at Maryland, UAlbany grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening half and then extended their lead to 2-0 early in the second. The Terapins scored with seven minutes left, but couldn't tally the equalize The Great Danes fell to defending national champion UConn 1-0 in the semifinals.
• UAlbany finished the year with a 20-3 record as Heuser led the nation in both goals (29) and points (69). The four-time All-American led the Great Danes to three conference titles in her career.

 
AE Women’s Basketball Makes Waves in 2010 NCAA Tournament

• Vermont earned a #10 Seed in the NCAA Tournament after taking down Hartford in the conference championship, but the Hawks secured an at-large bid as a No. 10 Seed after finishing the regular season ranked 21st nationally in the AP poll.
• The Catamounts earned their first NCAA victory with a 64-55 win over No. 7 Wisconsin in the First Round, led by 25 points from Courtney Pilypaitis. UVM fell to No. 2 Notre Dame in the Second Round as they finished their season with a 27-7 record.
• Hartford lost to No. 7 LSU in the First Round, finishing 27-5 overall after a 16-0 mark in conference play during the regular season. The Hawks concluded the year with an RPI of 34 while Vermont owned an RPI of 38.

 
Towson Men’s Lacrosse Reaches 2001 Championship Weekend

• The Tigers became the first America East team to reach championship weekend by taking down Duke and Maryland on the road, before being tripped up by eventual champion Princeton in the semifinals 12-11.
• Towson earned the No. 6 seed in the 12-team tournament and after beating Duke 12-10 the Tigers edged Maryland 12-11 by scoring twice in the final minute of regulation. Facing a Princeton team looking for its sixth title in a decade, Towson kept it close but couldn’t net the equalizer in the last four minutes, falling 12-11.
• Head Coach Tony Seaman was named the National Coach of the Year after leading his charges to a 14-4 overall record while Dan Cocchi earned Second Team All-America honors.

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.