America East Daily Word - April 5

America East men’s lacrosse teams have two wins over ranked opponents this year - Stony Brook defeated then No. 18 Delaware and UMBC downed then No. 4 Maryland back in early March.

Albany gets a shot to pick up the third when it travels to take on No. 3 Johns Hopkins tonight on ESPN3.

The Great Danes enter Thursday night’s game coming of their first win of the season, a conference opening 12-11 victory over Binghamton this weekend. Miles Thompson scored four goals and Joe Restarits added a hat trick and two assists to power Albany.

This will be Albany’s fifth game against a nationally ranked opponent having already seen the likes of Syracuse, UMass, Yale and Bucknell this season. The Danes came closest to the upset in the season opener against the Orange falling 12-7 in Syracuse.

Albany head coach Scott Marr, a 1991 graduate of Johns Hopkins, played on the 1987 Blue Jay national championship team and led the Great Danes to their only win over Hopkins in the 2007 season opener.

First face off from Baltimore is scheduled for 7 p.m.

In the only men’s lacrosse action on Wednesday, UMBC lost to Towson in a 12-11 nail-biter. Scott Jones scored four times for the Retrievers (3-5). The Baltimore Sun’s Edward Lee has a full recap from Towson’s Johnny Unitas Stadium.

In women’s lacrosse action yesterday, the first-place Boston University Terriers stayed atop the league standings by winning their sixth straight game, a 13-8 win over New Hampshire. Stony Brook improved to 2-0 in league play with its 16-6 win over UMBC. Janine Hiller scored six goals to lead the Seawolves. Albany moved to 1-1 in conference action after defeating Binghamton, 10-3. Check out some highlights of that game, below. Vermont fell to No. 20 Boston College 15-9 in the only non-conference action of the day.

Maine baseball made it five in a row thanks to a 7-2 win over Husson in the Black Bear’s home opener. The Bangor Daily News has a recap of that one from Orono. Meanwhile, Stony Brook continues its streak of hot play, notching a 9-0 win over visiting Fairleigh Dickinson.

Albany softball picked up the lone America East win yesterday with its 8-0 win over Colgate in the first of two scheduled games in Hamilton. Game two was cancelled due to rain. The win marks the Danes’ eighth straight heading into a weekend conference series with Hartford.

For all your America East news, head over to AmericaEast.com.

America East Daily Word - April 4

As we get closer and closer to May, each conference lacrosse game becomes increasingly more important.

Nowhere is that more true than today on Long Island when the resurgent Stony Brook women take on a tough UMBC team in a pivotal women’s lax game.

UMBC enters Wednesday’s game with a 1-1 conference mark but that one win came against the defending champion, Albany on the first day of league play. The Retrievers lost a tough one to Boston U. over the weekend but did control a good majority of play. UMBC is a perfect 9-0 versus Stony Brook all-time.

The Seawolves are 1-0 in conference play for the first time since 2007 after their win over Binghamton this past weekend. Boasting one of the nation’s top offenses, Stony Brook has poured in 54 goals in its last three games. Demmianne Cook and Claire Petersen could break the program’s single season records for goals and assists in tonight’s game.

First draw from LaValle Stadium is set for 7 p.m.

We’ve also got two more women’s lacrosse conference matchups today. Albany looks to build on its 11-9 win over Stanford last week when Binghamton makes the trip on I-88 for a 4 p.m. conference tilt. Elsewhere, New Hampshire travels to Boston University for a date with the first-place Terriers. In the lone non-conference game today, Vermont heads to Boston College to take on the Eagles.

In the only men’s lacrosse action this evening, UMBC tangles with Towson. The Retrievers are coming off a conference-opening win against defending champion Hartford which saw them score the game’s first five goals. Head coach Don Zimmerman can tell a lot about his team from the first five minutes of the game. The Baltimore Sun has more.

Last night, the Binghamton men’s lacrosse team snapped a four-game skid with an 11-7 win over Canisius. Brandon Planck scored five goals for the Bearcats. Check out a full recap from the Press and Sun Bulletin.

In softball action yesterday, Stony Brook continued to click all over the diamond with a 7-0 win over Long Island. Allison Cukrov fired her ninth shutout of the season for the Seawolves. Meanwhile, Albany swept a doubleheader from Cornell and Maine got back on the winning track with a win over Husson.

The Maine and Husson baseball teams will play today and it will be the Black Bears’ first home game of the season. The Bangor Daily News has a story on how the weekend sweep of Norfolk State has the team geared up for Wednesday’s home opener. Stony Brook, Albany and Binghamton are all in action this afternoon, as well.

Check out the full schedule for today’s busy slate, including live coverage links, at AmericaEast.com.

America East Daily Word - April 2

Just like there was an America East twist in the men’s Final Four, the conference has its own connection to the women’s Final Four, as well.

Maine women’s hoops coach Richard Barron had a hand in the squad that the Baylor women put on the floor every night. That Baylor team is one win away from a national title.

Prior to his first season in Orono and the previous two at North Carolina State, Barron served as the recruiting coordinator under Kim Mulkey at Baylor. In his two years with the Bears, the team was able to sign a handful of the upperclassmen that led the team to its current 39-0 record. One of those players:  national Player of the Year Brittney Griner. Needless to say, Barron has an interest in Baylor’s championship hunt.

Peter Warner of the Bangor Daily New wrote a story this weekend about Barron’s connection to Baylor’s success and how he plans to implement some of the same recruiting strategies for his Maine team. Barron just completed a 10-country recruiting trip in Europe, seeking out some of the finest international players.

Check out the full article, here.

Staying in Orono, All-American track standout Corey Conner made her return to competition this weekend at Maine’s home meet against New Hampshire and Bates. Conner hadn’t competed officially since the 2011 indoor season in part because she’s attempting to reach an ambitious goal. Check out her feature in the Bangor Daily News and read about her goal.

The Maine baseball team headlined a successful weekend on the diamond for America East squads. The Black Bears swept Norfolk State on the road. Maine outscored Norfolk State 35-10 over the four-game set. Elsewhere, Stony Brook swept a doubleheader against NYIT with Tyler Johnson becoming the program’s all-time wins leader. Albany split a twinbill with UMass, Binghamton did the same against Siena while Hartford took two of three from NJIT.

Conference softball action continued this weekend with Binghamton and Albany picking up sweeps. The Bearcats took three straight from Hartford while Albany did the same to Maine. Stony Brook won two of three against Boston U. and UMBC grabbed three of four against St. Peter’s in non-conference play

Men’s lacrosse conference play got underway on Saturday with Stony Brook, UMBC and Albany picking up wins. Check out the photo gallery from the Seawolves’ win over Vermont and a recap from the Danes’ first win of the season.

In women’s lacrosse action, Stony Brook, Vermont and Boston U. collected wins during the second weekend of conference action. The Terriers went on an 8-0 run to close the game and defeat UMBC 12-11. UVM ran past New Hampshire in the second half. The Burlington Free Press has more on that game and Newsday has more on Stony Brook’s first win in a conference opener since 2007.

For all of the weekly award recipients, check out AmericaEast.com.