Women's Lacrosse 5/1/2026 10:28:30 PM No. 1 Vermont & No. 2 UAlbany Advance to #AEWLAX Championship ALBANY, N.Y. – No. 2 UAlbany saw a four-goal lead evaporate in the 4th but scored the game-winner with 1:03 left to pull out the win, while top seeded Vermont withstood an early run from No. 4 UMBC to secure a victory in Friday’s #AEWLAX Semifinals. Vermont trailed UMBC 3-1 after the first quarter, but scored five straight goals to open the second quarter. UMBC then tied it up at six apiece, before three from the Catamounts put them ahead for good. UAlbany and Bryant were tied 4-4 at the half, but the Great Danes scored the first four goals of the second half for an 8-4 lead and led 10-6 midway through the fourth. Bryant stormed back with a 5-1 run to tie it, but UAlbany’s Mya Carroll scored the game-winner with 1:03 remaining. No. 1 Vermont will battle No. 2 UAlbany for the 2026 #AEWLAX Championship on Sunday at 12 p.m. at UVM. The Catamounts beat the Great Danes 14-4 earlier this season at home. #AEMLAX Semifinal Recaps No. 1 Vermont 10, No. 4 UMBC 7 The Retrievers’ Sam Hewitt made it 1-0 just four minutes into the contest, though Vermont tied it up five minutes later. UMBC added a pair of goals from Tess Curtis and Emily Knapp in the final 92 seconds of the quarter for a 3-1 lead after 15 minutes. Vermont scored twice in a 40-second span to tie the score up 3-3 and Caitlin Haggerty gave the Catamounts the 4-3 lead on a nice free position goal. Lydia Doraz scored at 8:50 and then again just two minutes later for a hat trick and a 6-3 Catamount advantage. The Retrievers responded with a pair of goals in the final 2:40 of the half to trail 6-5. They scored the first goal of the third at 9:26 to even the score 6-6. Maddie Erskine broke the tie with 4:57 left and then made it 8-6 just 52 seconds later. Haggerty pushed the lead to 9-6 before the end of the third. Each team scored once in the final 15 minutes for a 10-7 score. Doraz had three goals and one assist with eight draw controls, while Haggerty had two goals and one assist. Ayla Shea made six saves to earn the victory. No. 2 UAlbany 12, No. 3 Bryant 11 Rookie of the Year Mya Carroll gave UAlbany a 1-0 lead off a great feed from Paisley Cook three minutes into the contest and Cook made it 2-0 at 8:19. Bryant got on the board at 6:32, but trailed 3-1 after the first quarter. The Bulldogs scored twice in the opening three minutes of the second and then grabbed a 4-3 advantage at 5:09 on a great individual effort by Riley O’Mara. Raval Marsell tied it up with 3:50 left in the half for UAlbany. Jaedyn Frink put the Great Danes in front 5-4 just 49 seconds in the third, jumpstarting a 4-0 run for an 8-4 lead with 4:42 remaining in the period. O’Mara scored at the end of the third and then each team scored once in the opening five minutes of the third for a 9-6 Bryant deficit. Down 10-6, Bryant scored three times in one minute, with two by O’Mara to pull within one. UAlbany answered at 4:35, but Ava Bartoli came through with consecutive goals to tie the contest 1-1 with just 1:55 remaining. Mya Caroll was the hero, beating Defender of the Year Jessice Tosone and ripping a shot into the cage for the eventual game-winner with 1:03 left. Cook finished with six points (2g, 4a), three ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Frink scored four times. Grace Cincebox made 10 saves in net to earn the win Sierra Donis was impressive in the loss with 13 saves, while O’Mara tallied five goals. Visit Championship Central for complete 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. 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. - America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -