Hawks Earn No. 2 Seed by Defeating UMBC

WEST HARTFORD, Conn.—The Hartford lacrosse team closed out the regular season with a crucial 10-6 win over conference foe UMBC to take the number two seed in the America East tournament. Nearly a thousand fans showed up to Al-Marzook Field to honor the Hawks’ seven seniors, who play host to the Retrievers on Wednesday in the semifinals.
Hartford (9-6, 3-2) scored four goals and held the Retrievers (6-6, 3-2) scoreless in the third quarter to go up 8-4 after being tied at the half. Junior Carter Bender, second in the league in scoring, registered a hat trick and an assist to lead the Hawks past UMBC for the third straight time.
Fellow junior Scott Bement stopped 17 shots between the pipes, including a few saves that were downright cruel to the visitors. His defense helped by causing seven turnovers, compared to none for the Retrievers. The Hawks held them scoreless for a 30-minute span.
“That was the difference, right there,” explained Hartford coach Peter Lawrence, who has his squad in the postseason for the first time in eight years. “You get 17 saves every game and you’re going to win the conference.”
Senior Tim Fallon, eighth in the nation in face-off percentage and second in ground balls, went 9-18 from the X with a game-high eight ground balls. Fellow classmen Conor Flynn and Dan Gillespie anchored the defense, each causing a turnover and holding the offensively challenged Retrievers to just two second-half goals.
Sophomore Scott Jones, the leading scorer for UMBC, was held to two goals. Rob Grimm added three points with a goal and two assists to give him 17 on the season.
Jared Franze gave the Hawks the pivotal fifth goal two minutes into the second half when he received a pass from Rory Nunamacher and cranked it over the right shoulder of Retrievers goalie Brian McCullough. The two combined for three points on the game. No seniors got on the score sheet for Hartford.
The Hawks will host the Retrievers on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. at Al-Marzook field to kick off the 2011 postseason.

Will Brown Honored with Sportsmanship Award

Back in December, we profiled a story on the Albany men's basketball team showing a true act of sportsmanship prior to a matchup with Xavier. In case people may have forgotten, due to horrible weather in the Northeast, Albany's travel plans for a game against Xavier had been thrown through a loop. However, the Great Danes were able to adjust their plans and bus from New York to Ohio. As Jeff Goodman from Foxsports.com explained, there was an extra passenger on the bus that would play a big role in the upcoming game.

"I was sitting in my office and my director of operations came in and said he had gotten an unusual request," Albany coach Will Brown said. "Then he told me that Lyons was stuck in Schenectady and Xavier wanted to know if he could travel with us on our bus."

Lyons is second on Xavier's team in scoring at 13.1 points per game and a key component to Xavier's success, but Brown didn't hesitate in agreeing to take the local kid along for the ride.

"It's the right thing to do," added Brown. "This time of year, it's what it's all about."

 For this great act of sportsmanship, Brown is set to be recognized at the 2011 National Sportsmanship Awards in St. Louis, Mo., this Saturday. Here is a little more background on the event and why this is such a great event to be a part of:

The National Sportsmanship Awards celebrates all that's right in sports. It honors athletes and personalities from around the nation for their integrity, class, selflessness, perseverance, kindness, community service and overall commitment to sportsmanship. The National Sportsmanship Awards is the signature event of the St. Louis Sports Commission’s Sportsmanship Initiative.  Through the Sportsmanship Initiative, the organization creates more positive environments for kids to play sports so they will remain active and lead healthier, happier lives.  The Sports Commission reaches out to coaches, parents, athletes and fans to reinforce the values of sportsmanship: respect, caring, fairness, selflessness, civility, honesty and integrity.  By recognizing outstanding individuals who set a high standard with their approach on and off the field, the organization hopes to set the tone for all to be good sports and to pass those values on to children in the community.

 AExtra would like to congratulate Coach Brown and the Albany program for this well-deserved recognition.

UMBC Baseball tops local NEC foe Mount St. Mary's, 7-2

The UMBC baseball team won for the second consecutive time under the lights at Baseball Factory Field, defeating Mount St. Mary’s 7-2. Senior Rick Phillips and Sophomore Max Himmelstein each had 3 RBI to lead the Retrievers. Here are highlights and post-game comments.

Hitting the Links: 4/27/2011

Hey there, AExtra fans!

Last night, there was only one lacrosse game on the schedule, but in New York State's Capitol Region, it was a big one. Albany,  while it has had a rough season, played for pride yesterday against cross-town rival Siena. The Great Danes put a halt to a four-game skid thanks in large part to a five-goal run in the third quarter last night. The Danes avenged last season's loss to their Capitol Region foe with a 12-10 victory. Freshman Ty Thompson led the way with all three of his goals coming during the 5-0 run.

Great Danes Snap Four-Game Skid

Albany put an end to its four-game losing streak with a 12-10 victory at cross-town rivals Siena. Freshman attack Ty Thompson and junior attack Joe Resetarits each found the back of the net three times in the win.

Hitting the Links: 4/26/2011

Happy Tuesday, AExtra fans!

Yesterday, we got you caught up on some of the highlights of the lacrosse weekend that was. Today, let's take a look at some of the other goings on around America East. Let's talk diamonds. Even more important than the precious stones are the baseball diamonds. We start with some action up in Orono.

Remember a few weeks ago when Maine's field was buried under a foot of snow? Well the Black Bear baseball team finally had its home opener after 32 games. When Maine was able to dig out its diamond, it found a pair of gems. Pitching gems. The Black Bears hosted Albany for a weekend series and watched their starters allow a total of four hits to the Great Danes in a doubleheader. Albany may have walked away from the series with the last laugh though when pinch hitter Jeff Welch hit a home run in the 12th inning to bring home a Great Dane victory.

Hitting the Links: 4/25/2011

Good Afternoon AExtra fans.

What a weekend we just finished up, particularly on the lacrosse field. With just one weekend remaining in the regular season, the America East tournament picture is beginning to clear, even if it is still quite blurry on both the men's and women's sides. So what happened on the fields this weekend?

In case you missed it, #14/13 Stony Brook locked up a share of the America East regular-season championship on the men's side, along with the top seed in the upcoming America East tournament. The Seawolves, who are 8-3 overall and 4-0 in league play, earned the top spot after topping Albany, 23-11. The Stony Brook offense "erupted" for the second-largest goal total nationally this season, suggesting that perhaps the Seawolves are peaking at just the right time.

New Hampshire Leads America East in Directors' Cup

University of New Hampshire stands among elite company in the most recent Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings, released April 21. The Wildcats lead all America East schools and rank 53^rd in NCAA Division I, which includes more than 340 athletic programs. New Hampshire is rated second, behind only Princeton, in schools from Football Championship Subdivision conferences.

The Wildcats have compiled 242.5 points through the winter sports season. Boston University ranks second in America East and 67^th overall with 199 points, followed by Stony Brook with 110.5 points. Vermont (72), Albany (50), UMBC (50), Binghamton (43) and Hartford (25) are the other America East schools to accumulate points.

The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 20 sports – 10 women’s and 10 men’s.

Stanford, which has 16-consecutive Directors’ Cup titles, leads again in 2010-11. Ohio State, Penn State, North Carolina and Michigan round out the top 5.

Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found at www.directorscup.org.

Binghamton Earns 10-8 Win Over Hartford

Sophomore attack Matt Springer scored four goals to lead Binghamton to the 10-8 victory over Hartford. Binghamton earned a spot in the America East tournament with the victory, while the Hawks also earned a spot thanks to their victory over Vermont earlier this season.

Highlights:



Interviews:

Late goal pushes UMBC past Vermont 9-8, clinches spot in AE Tourney

UMBC sophomore attackman Scott Jones scored three goals, added two assists and recorded the game-winning goal with 41 seconds remaining as the host Retrievers nipped Vermont, 9-8, in a critical America East Conference game. The Retrievers won for the fourth straight time and improved to 6-5 overall and 3-1 in league play. UMBC clinched a spot in the four-team America East Tournament for the eighth time in eight conference campaigns.