Some Stony Brook Women's Hoops

Two of the four new America East basketball coaches have picked up their first wins with their respective schools already this season. Richard Barron and his Maine Black Bear women's team defeated Rhode Island last weekend and UVM's John Becker led the Catamount men to a win against Dartmouth on Wednesday.

Joe Jones at Boston University and Beth O'Boyle at Stony Brook look to get their first wins this weekend.

We caught up with Coach O'Boyle at Stony Brook to chat about taking over the program and some players we need to look out for this year for the Seawolves...

America East Daily Word - November 18

In the midst of all the basketball talk, the America East still has one soccer team fighting its way through the postseason. And that team is doing it with discipline…

The Boston University women’s soccer team is a win against top-seeded Wake Forest away from advancing to the Sweet 16. The Terriers have put together the finest season in program history – they’ve outscored their opponents 54-11, they’ve won a school-record 14 games in a row and they haven’t received one yellow card. That’s right – not a single booking all season.  No other team remaining in the NCAA tournament can say that. In fact, Boston U. had only been saddled with three yellow in the past three seasons.  Our Game Magazine takes a closer look at the Terriers’ discipline on the field.

ESPN.com’s Graham Hays checked this game as one of three second round matchups to keep an eye on. He explains that if there is an underdog team that can limit Wake’s potent offense, it’s Boston U.

“But even if the other No. 1 seeds face second-round games against bigger schools (No. 1 Duke against Georgia; No. 1 Stanford against South Carolina) or higher-profile programs (No. 1 Florida State versus Portland), Wake Forest may be the one with the trickiest path to the Sweet 16. The Terriers have missed just two NCAA tournaments since 2000 and none since 2004, so they know the surroundings,” Hays says.

That is due in large part to a stingy backline featuring a slew of talented defenders and a senior goalkeeper. Alice Binns and Emma Clark both were featured in their hometown newspapers leading up to this big time battle against the Deamon Deacons.

Boston U. is one of five non-FBS conference schools to win to win a game in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship, while America East is one of just four non-FBS conference to have a team win a game. The Terriers try to add another victory this evening.

UAlbany men’s basketball player Gerardo Suero has only played three games for his new school. But already he’s making waves in the America East and ESPN took note. The Danes lost to Syracuse on Tuesday but Suero dumped in 31 points a night after dropping 29 against Brown. And now he is an ESPN.com Mid-Major Star of the Week.

Former three-time all-conference player, J.J. Barea, has a bit more free time on his hands with the NBA Lockout. So what does he do? The former Northeastern star will tell you in a Sports Illustrated feature in the latest mag.

Binghamton track star Erik Van Ingen, who ran a 3:57 mile in the Conference Championship last year, caught up with Runner’s World to talk about a passion off the track. Van Ingen is currently working on a documentary film which follows several premiere track athletes through a summer of training. You can watch the trailer of The Real Maine here and read his conversation with the magazine here.

It was a tough night for America East basketball teams last evening. Maine trailed by only five at half time but No. 4 UConn flexed itsmuscles in the second stanza – 80-60 was the final in that one. UMBC also fell on the men’s side, dropping a 73-63 decision to Loyola. And the Hartford women ran into a buzzsaw in the WNIT semifinals. No. 2 Notre Dame beat the Hawks, 98-43.

It was an even tougher loss for the Stony Brook men’ssoccer team in the NCAA tournament. The Seawolves battled No. 23 Monmouth to a scoreless draw through 110 minutes of soccer before falling to the Hawks, 5-4, in penalty kicks.

For the entire weekend schedule and all the live coverage links be sure to head to AmericaEast.com.

Inside Lacrosse: Notes from Fall Meeting - Stony Brook
Press and Sun Bulletin: Binghamton men intend to focus on defense
Bangor Daily News: Caposella honored again as Diver of the Week
Burlington Free Press: Transfer Shanai Heber helps spark UVM's turnaround
Pipe Dream: Men's basketball to take on Fordham and St. Peter's this weekend
The New Hampshire: UNH women fall to Seton Hall

America East Daily Word - November 17

The infamous tick-tock, synonymous with CBS Sunday night programming, brought viewers into a story this past weekend that had an America East feel to it.

60 Minutes ran a feature on UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski on Sunday detailing his efforts, and the students’ efforts, to bring UMBC’s math, science and engineering programs to national prominence. The story begins with a brief illustration of Hrabowski’s childhood in Alabama before breaking down how his upbringing impacted his life as an educator. You can watch the feature, here.

UMBC was named the top up and coming university by the U.S. News and World Report Best College rankings and lists back in September. The institution received the same recognition last year as well. That is due in large part to its expansive scientific research programs and opportunities like the Meyerhoff Scholar program.

“[The concept] is that we can create a program that focuses on both excellence and inclusiveness,” Hrabowski told 60 Minutes reporter Byron Pitts. The Meyerhoff program brings students from all backgrounds to campus that are excellent in math, science and engineering.

While the story focused on the growth of the sciences at UMBC, the theme of support permeated throughout evidenced by the shots of Hrabowski genuinely interacting with students in the hallways and all over campus.

That support and community, Hrabowksi urges, is what will lead UMBC to the top.

Back to the sports now, we had six basketball teams take the court last night…

We’ll start on the women’s side where four unbeaten teams looked to keep the early season success going. Only Vermont was able to do just that. The Catamounts downed Fairfield, 65-48 in Burlington. It marks the first time UVM has won back-to-back games since a four-game stretch at the end of the 2009-2010 season that carried it through the America East and first round of the NCAA Tourneys.  UMBC battled to stake a comeback against Coppin State but 31 turnovers were too tough to overcome in a 68-60 loss. UAlbany was also saddled with its first loss of the season at Iowa. Head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson’s return to her alma-mater was not a good one. The Danes kept things in check for most of the first half but an 8-0 run late for the Hawkeyes before halftime was the undoing. Iowa ended up winning the game by 22, 82-60. Finally, New Hampshire fell to Big East foe Seton Hall, 61-38.

The Vermont men rebounded from a tough loss at South Florida over the weekend to defeat a stingy Dartmouth team, 65-53, in Hanover, N.H. last night.  Brendan Bald and Pat Bergman sparked the Cats to victory, so write Burlington Free press reporter John Fantino. Hartford fell behind early to Mount St. Mary’s and could not recover in a home opening 63-50 loss for the Hawks.

The big matchup tonight features the Maine men against the defending national champion UConn Huskies. The Hartford Courant ran a great story today about the friendship between the two head coaches in that one. Maine’s Ted Woodward was a graduate assistant under Jim Calhoun back in the late 80s and now Woodward gets another chance to match wits with his former mentor.

Elsewhere, the Hartford women are South Bend bound to take on Notre Dame in the WNIT semifinals and the UMBC men host Loyola.

Daily Free Press: Women's soccer on doorstep of history
Daily Free Press: Big feat at stake against the Big Red
Daily Free Press: Terriers hope not to get tangled vs. Spiders
Hartford Informer: South Bend Bound
Hartford Informer: Poitras leads Hawks to AE title game in first

America East Daily Word - November 16

The devastation triggered by Tropical Storm Irene cannot be understated. Masses of people felt the wrath of Irene. Roads were torn up, water supplies were contaminated and even homes were washed away.

University of Vermont skier Colton Hardy’s family home in Jamaica, Vt., was completely destroyed by Irene. The home was ripped from its foundation and lost in the waters of the tropical storm.

His Vermont Athletics family sponsored an event to lend support to Hardy and his family. As the waitstaff at a Burlington restaurant for an evening, a strong contingent of Catamounts raised money last week for their fellow Cat in his family’s time of need.

"Obviously the entire state of Vermont was devastated, and as the Vermont athletics, we decided consciously that we need to do something," said UVM track athlete Chris Lemieux, who organized the event.  "Vermont athletics is more than our performance on the field or on the ice or on the turf. We thought that doing an event for him would be a good way to show our love and support not only for our community, but for our own individual athlete in our family."

WCAX Channel 3’s newest sports reporter, Ashley Chase, covered the story, here.

A percentage of the proceeds from the event and all tips earned by the UVM student-athletes went directly to Hardy’s family.

The basketball season continued with a flurry last night.

The Binghamton women picked up the only victory. The Bearcats ran past Siena,80-70. Andrea Holmes scored 12 of her 17 points in the first half while Orla O’Reilly tallied a game-high 29 points for 2-0 Binghamton.

The men did not fare as well. Stony Brook struggled out of the gate and could never recover in a 74-63 loss to Sacred Heart. Albany, meanwhile, had itself a tough test in the form of No. 5 Syracuse. The Times Union was all over coverage of this game. Despite the 24-point loss to the Orange, Albany did some good things and Mark McGuire (of the Times Union, not St. Louis Cardinals) says the Danes’1-2 record is misleading.

After the 17-point performance he uncorked against South Florida in his collegiate debut, Vermont’s Four McGlynn got some love in the Burlington Free Press today. John Fantino featured the freshman from Pennsylvania in his most recent work.

Speaking of Vermont, it is one of six America East squads scheduled to compete tonight. The Cats travel to Hanover, N.H. to take on Dartmouth. The only other men’s game features Hartford and Mount St. Mary’s.

The Vermont women are also in action tonight hosting a tough Fairfield squad that already has a win over an America East school this season. Elsewhere, New Hampshire hosts Seton Hall, UMBC battles Coppin St. and Albany is at Iowa. 

NACDA.com: Albany's McElroy to be Inducted into Hall of Fame
Bangor Daily News: UMaine women's hoops signs four recruits
Portsmouth Press Herald: Strong debut with Catamounts for Taylor
Naushua Telegraph: Local athletes choose America East schools

America East Daily Word - November 15

No NBA?

No problem.

As disappointing as the prospect of a winter without pro hoops is, we’ve still got college basketball galore. The 24-hour College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon today provides us with some great early season matchups and plenty of basketball to satisfy our craving for the hardwood.

Perhaps you recall the adventures of two of last year’s interns – Max Mandel and Keith Arsenault – who ventured to New Jersey for the Stony Brook-Monmouth game that tipped at 6 a.m. It was part of the 24-hour marathon but naturally the story of the day was seeing Max struggle to wake up at 4:30.

UMBC is doing its part to feed the basketball monster by going all access with its women’s basketball team. Led by Phil Stern, the lady Retrievers have started the season 2-0 and are certainly happy about that. At least that’s the sense we get from the first installment of our all-access tour with the Retrievers. That video is also available on AExtra.

Make sure to check out the first players of the week video of the season, as well.



We had four men’s basketball games last night around the league.  New Hampshire put a scare into an ACC team here in Boston. The Wildcats were on the verge of an upset of Boston College but eventually fell to the host Eagles, 67-64. Maine dominated in its season-opening win against Maine-Machias and Albany picked up its first win of the season with a win over Brown at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. The Troy Record featured Albany’s new instant offense, Gerardo Suero, after he scored 29 points in the win. Binghamton traveled to Ithaca for a battle with Cornell and came out on the short side of a 76-61 decision.

And more basketball is on the slate for today. Two men’s team and one women’s squad take to the hardwood. For the women, Binghamton travels to Loudonville, N.Y., to take on Siena. On the men’s side, Stony Brook travels to Sacred Heart to take on the Pioneers while Albany and No. 5 Syracuse go at it in the Carrier Dome. That game can be seen on ESPN3 and the winner will go on to play at Madison Square Garden in the semifinals of the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip Off. It will be Albany’s second crack at a top-10 team already this season.

Can Albany pull off the upset? Here are three reasons, according to the blogger at Unranked AE, that could contribute to a Great (Dane) of an upset.

Also, which team do you think will win the volleyball championship this weekend? Make sure to cast your vote on the side of the blog. 

America East Daily Word - November 14

Holy basketball Batman!

Well said, Robin - holy basketball, indeed. Seventeen America East basketball squads kicked-off the 2011-2012 campaign this weekend. Opening weekend had everything we could have hoped for – drama, overtime, cross-town rivalries, double-doubles, career highs and some successful coaching debuts.

If only the conference could have pulled out a few more wins, it would have been a perfect start to the season. But, hey, it’s week one and we weren’t necessarily playing against cupcakes to start the year.

Arguably the most successful squad this weekend was the Hartford women. Preseason WNIT matchups in West Hartford provided the Hawks with some tests right away. And they got two wins to advance to the WNIT semifinals. That’s pretty solid on the early-season report card. A win on Friday against Manhattan pushed Hartford into the quarters against LIU. One 54-45 win later and the Hawks have a semifinal bout with Notre Dame in South Bend on Thursday.

Hartford and the rest of the women’s squads went a combined 11-3. The Hawks, Albany and UMBC are all 2-0 on the young season. Maine head coach Richard Barron picked up his first win at the helm, Binghamton got off on the right foot, New Hampshire won its season opener and Vermont won its first non-conference game since the 2009-2010 season.

The men’s squads didn’t find a whole lot of success on the scoreboards this weekend but there is still plenty to be excited about. Stony Brook and Albany fought tough against Indiana and Pittsburgh on opening night while Boston U. hung with Texas before the Longhorns pulled away in the second half. New Hampshire and the Seawolves were the only teams to pick up wins this weekend. The Wildcats defeated Suffolk on Friday night while the Seawolves blew out Mt. Ida on Sunday afternoon.

We’ve got four men’s games on tap tonight. New Hampshire heads to Boston College for a date with the Eagles, Albany takes on Brown at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y., Binghamton is at Cornell and Maine hosts Maine-Machias in the Black Bears’ season opener.

StonyBrook and Hartford squared off last night for the men’s soccer conference championship. Both teams had been on a roll and Hartford beat the Seawolves on the last day of the regular season. Stony Brook would have none of that again. Leo Fernandes earned the tournament’s most outstanding player award and Stony Brook won its second conference title in three years with a 4-2 win.

Two America East NCAA Tournament participants played in their first round games on Saturday. Boston University won its women’s soccer contest against Harvard at Nickerson Field while New Hampshire suffered a tough 5-4 defeat to Michigan in field hockey.

The volleyball championship field is set after the final weekend of the regular season. Albany locked down the #1 seed after defeating New Hampshire on Friday. The Wildcats grabbed the #2 seed. Stony Brook and UMBC round out the tournament field. Semifinal action begins on Friday with the winners playing on Saturday for the title.

Take a trip around the league with these links from weekend action…

 
Times Union: UAlbany's hopes dashed
Times Union: UAlbany's Suero looking good
Press and Sun Bulletin: Bearcats drop season opener to Colgate
Hartford Courant: Penn State drops Hartford, 70-55
Baltimore Sun: St. John's routs UMBC
Burlington Free Press: Men's basketball game ends in controversy
Burlington Free Press: South Florida tops UVM men
Hartford Informer: Cordell loves her volleyball
Hartford Informer: Natale joins national Olympic soccer team
Maine Campus: Masters stumbles at NCAA regionals
Maine Campus: UMaine women split opening weekend games