New for the 2011-2012 seasons, the America East Daily Word, a collaboration between AmericaEast.com and AExtra, will recap the previous days games and on goings on our nine campuses and provide links to previews, recaps, features and exclusive coverage.

This weekend’s lacrosse matchups feature two first-place showdowns. Saturday afternoon, Stony Brook travels to Boston University for a battle with the Terriers in women’s lacrosse action. And then under the lights, UMBC hosts Stony Brook in a pivotal men’s contest in Baltimore.

Let’s start in Boston. The last two conference unbeatens square off for the 11^th time in the all-time series. Boston U. has won all but one contest holding a commanding 9-1 series lead. The Terriers have also won seven of their last eight games en route to a perfect 4-0 record in league play thanks in large part to the play of freshman Mallory Collins. Stony Brook, meanwhile, has won six in a row and is in the midst of one of the finest seasons in program history. The Seawolves are averaging just over 17 goals per game during the win streak.

To add some more intrigue to this matchup, a Boston U. win would clinch the regular season title for the Terriers, giving them the right to host the America East Championship May 3 & 5.

The last time the Stony Brook men lost a regular season conference game was in 2009. Their opponent – UMBC. The Retrievers lead the all-time series 11-6 but Stony Brook picked up wins in the last two meetings. UMBC enters Saturday night’s matchup coming off an 11-8 win over Vermont, a game in which it never trailed. The Seawolves recorded back-to-back 13-5 wins over Vermont and Binghamton in their last two games. Both teams bring 2-0 conference records into Saturday’s showdown.

First face-off from UMBC Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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