UMBC Upends Vermont to Claim 4th #AEMLAX Title
STONY BROOK, N.Y. – For the first time since 2009, UMBC is the America East men’s lacrosse champion. Trevor Patschorke’s goal with 1:06 left in the fourth quarter gave the Retrievers a 14-13 win in the #AEMLAX championship game Saturday afternoon at Stony Brook’s LaValle Stadium.
The championship is UMBC’s fourth in program history as it also won titles in 2006, ’08 and ’09. The Retrievers will learn their NCAA draw during the NCAA selection show on Sunday at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
Patschorke scored four times in the game and totaled 10 points on six goals and four assists in UMBC’s two tournament games to earn Most Outstanding Player honors.
Vermont (8-7) scored the game’s first three goals. Dawes Milchling, an All-Championship team choice, gave his team a 3-0 lead with his score just 2:54 into the contest. After UMBC scored twice, the Catamounts added two and took a 5-2 lead with 2:25 left in the first quarter.
UMBC (6-8) took advantage of a three-minute Vermont penalty and ran off four-straight scores and took a 6-5 lead on Patschorke’s second goal of the day with 9:19 left in the second quarter. The Catamounts, who were seeking their first-ever conference crown, countered with five scores in a row and took a 10-6 lead on America East Rookie of the Year David Closterman’s goal 3:57 into the third.
The game of runs continued as UMBC ran off five in a row, including a pair by first-team All-Conference standout Ryan Frawley, an All-Championship honoree. After Vermont tied the game at 11 with 7:21 left, the two teams traded scored until Patschorke won it for UMBC with his score with 1:09 left.
Patschorke, Frawley and Milchling were joined on the All-Championship team by UMBC’s Billy Nolan and Gunner Schmoler, Vermont’s Alex Semler and Nick Washuta, Stony Brook’s Tom Haun and Ryland Rees and UAlbany’s Diamond Davis and Erik Dluhy.
UMBC’s Nick Griffin earned the conference's men’s Elite 18 lacrosse Elite 18 award for having the highest GPA among participating student-athletes in the championship game. The junior carries a 4.00 GPA in chemical engineering.
Visit Championship Central for box scores, highlights and recaps to all 2018 America East Men’s Lacrosse Championship games.
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