Daily Word: Playoffs at Stake in Final Weekend of Regular Season

We have reached the final weekend of the regular season in men’s and women’s lacrosse and playoff bids and seeds are still at stake.

On the men’s side, three teams have already locked down postseason berths with Stony Brook, Albany and UMBC all qualifying. Those three teams are tied atop the league standings and all could collect the top seed and earn home field advantage throughout the conference tourney. The Seawolves and Great Danes square off Saturday night under the lights in Albany while UMBC travels to Binghamton to take on the Bearcats.

Stony Brook is the only team to control its own destiny. A Seawolf would win at Albany would give them the No. 1 seed for the third straight year. Albany would grab the top seed with a win over Stony Brook and a UMBC loss at Binghamton, while the Retrievers pick up No. 1 if it beats Binghamton and Albany beats Stony Brook.

Vermont and Hartford get together on Saturday night as well and the final playoff spot belongs to the winner. The Hawks could move up to the No. 3 seed with a win and a Stony Brook loss since they have the tiebreaker over the Seawolves.

On the women’s side, two seeds have already been decided as Boston University will be No. 1 and Stony Brook No. 2. UMBC has clinched a playoff spot and will learn its seed after the weekend’s action. Vermont, New Hampshire and Albany sit in a three-way tie for the last postseason bid.

Vermont hosts Albany in a huge game for both teams while New Hampshire travels to Stony Brook to take on the Seawolves. UMBC closed out its regular season with a 7-6 win over No. 19 John’s Hopkins on Wednesday while Boston University looks to clinch the regular season title outright with a win at Binghamton.

The Albany-Vermont winner will keep its postseason hopes alive while the loser will be eliminated. The winner will also need UNH to lose to Stony Brook in order to earn the four seed, while UMBC would be the three seed in that scenario. Should the Wildcats defeat the Seawolves, UNH would own the three-way tiebreaker between UMBC and the Albany/Vermont winner to capture the three seed, and UMBC would fall to the four seed.

For all the live coverage links for a huge weekend of lacrosse action, check out AmericaEast.com.

Let’s take a look at some of the other weekend action from around America East land.

On the baseball diamond, first-place Stony Brook travels to Baltimore to take on UMBC at the Baseball Factory Field. Binghamton makes its way to West Hartford to take on the Hawks while Maine hosts Albany.

Softball action features three-game sets between Hartford and Boston University, Binghamton and Stony Brook and UMBC and Maine. The Seawolves, Terriers and idle Albany Great Danes are a combined 30-7-1 in conference play this season.

Speaking of the Terriers, Boston U. completed a season sweep of Boston College on Thursday smacking four home runs en route to a 6-4 win over the Eagles. Check out a photo gallery from the contest. In final game on Thursday, Hartford broke out the bats scoring 13 runs in a 13-7 win over UConn in Storrs.

Virtue Field

Last weekend was the dedication of Virtue Field which served as way to commemorate the project and thank the Virtue Family for their generous gift. Through their support and the collaboration of others Phase I of Virtue field was successfully completed.

This state of the art facility serves as the home field for both the lacrosse and soccer programs, as well as recreational sports. Virtue Field is the first phase of a planned stadium project that will include grandstand seating for 3,000 spectators, game-day locker rooms, public restrooms, concessions, and storage space.

Dr. Robert Corran, UVM Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics, expressed his gratitude for the financial support and contribution of all those involved. The dedication of Virtue Field marked the completion of a major milestone in a project that has been in the works for several years. 

This complex is in the heart of campus and will serve as a home for UVM Athletics as well as students and the community. Dr. Robert Corran and Ryan Curtis, head coach of the men’s lacrosse program, believe that this facility will not only heighten the visibility of the athletic programs but demonstrates the commitment the university, community, and alumni have in enhancing the experiences of all those who attend the University of Vermont.

Check out this video to hear some of Dr. Robert Corran's and Coach Curtis’ thoughts on the completion of Virtue Field and what it means for the future of UVM Athletics.

Daily Word: UMBC Knocks Off No. 19 John's Hopkins

Having already clinched a spot in the America East Championship tournament, the UMBC women’s lacrosse team wrapped up its regular season last evening against crosstown rival and 19^th-ranked John’s Hopkins.

The Retrievers made the quick 20 minute trip to Homewood Field with hopes of knocking off the Blue Jays for the first time since 1999.

Things started on a slow note for UMBC as Hopkins jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. A UMBC rally before halftime evened things up. After the break, the Retrievers outscored Hopkins 5-4 to pick up a thrilling 7-6 win in Baltimore.

Alicia Krause led UMBC with four goals and Anna Barnett made four saves.

This marks the second win over a ranked opponent this season for the Retrievers as they knocked off then-No. 13 Albany back in March. It is also the America East’s second win over John’s Hopkins this year as Stony Brook downed the Blue Jays in early March.

Check out Lacrosse Magazine, Baltimore Sun and the Retriever Weekly for recaps from the Retriever’s upset win.

We had a busy schedule throughout the conference last night with plenty of non-conference baseball and softball action on the slate.

On the baseball diamond, Stony Brook downed Fairfield 6-4 to win its seventh straight game and 17^th in its last 19. During that win streak, junior centerfielder Travis Jankowski is hitting .591 (13-for-22) including 4-for-4 against the Stags. UMBC completed the season sweep of Mount St. Mary’s as Brian Klukowicz homered twice in a 15-10 Retriever win. Elsewhere, Binghamton fell to Cornell, Hartford lost to URI and Albany dropped an 8-5 decision to Manhattan. Check out some highlights from that Albany below and read up on Binghamton and Maine in the Press and Sun Bulletin and Bangor Daily News.

Boston University’s softball team continued its solid play sweeping a doubleheader of Providence yesterday. Check out the Daily Free Press for a recap of the Terrier wins and a preview of today’s contest against Boston College. Maine also picked up a win against St. Joseph’s in Orono. In other action, Sacred Heart defeated Stony Brook while Hartford lost a doubleheader to Nutmeg State rival Quinnipiac. Check out postgame reaction from West Hartford.

Those same Hawks travel to Storrs today to take on UConn.

Be sure to head over to the America East Facebook page to votes for this year’s Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse Fan’s Choice Player of the Year and for all of the latest happenings around America East.

Daily Word: National Rankings Review

America East student-athletes and teams continue to make a splash in the national and regional rankings and statistics.

In women’s lacrosse, Stony Brook appears near the top of several statistical categories nationally. Demianne Cook ranks second in goals per game with 3.94 but is tied of the national lead in goals scored with 63. Claire Petersen leads the nation in points per game scoring 6.14 per contest for the Seawolves. Hampshire’s Kate Keagins ranks 13^th in caused turnovers forcing 1.86 per game. As a team, Stony Brook ranks eighth in scoring offense with fellow America East schools Vermont (12) and Boston U. (25) appearing in the top 25. New

Hartford’s men’s lacrosse team boasts a high-powered offense as well and ranks fourth nationally scoring 12.69 goals per game. Albany (27) and UMBC (28) appear in the top-30.

On the diamond, Stony Brook boasts a top-10 team batting average and earned run average. Hitting the ball at a .319 clip and posting a 2.82 team ERA has the Seawolves ranked ninth and eighth in those respective categories. Maxx Tissenbaum is also the toughest batter to strikeout in the entire country having only fanned three times in 131 at-bats this spring. Binghamton’s Mike Augliera has a 12.50 strikeout-to-walk ration which ranks second in the country.

America East has three pitchers in the top-35 nationally in ERA with Stony Brook’s Allison Cukrov leading the way at 1.09, which ranks seventh. Boston U.’s Holli Floetker (1.27) checks in at No. 18 while Albany’s Brittany MacFawn comes in at No. 35 with a 1.59 ERA.

Outdoor track regional rankings are littered with America East squads as three men’s and two women’s teams cracked the Northeast region rankings. The Binghamton men bring in the highest ranking at No. 9 with Boston U. (11) and Albany (14) check in on the men’s side. For the women, Boston U. holds the No. 11 slot with Albany not far behind at No. 13.

Renovations to Maine’s Memorial Gym, more fondly known as the ‘Pit,’ and the field house are projected to begin in 2013. The Bangor Daily News caught up with athletic director Steve Abbott to talk about the process and the plans for the facility.

We’ve got a few non-conference lacrosse games on the slate for today as we inch closer to the final weekend of conference play on the turf.

In women’s action, Binghamton hosts No. 12/13 Cornell in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. You can follow all the action as it happens with live video and stats from the Bearcats Sports Complex.

On the men’s side, two rivalry games comprise the docket this evening as Vermont hosts Dartmouth and Albany plays host to crosstown foe Siena. Make sure to head over to AmericaEast.com for the live coverage links to those games.

On the diamonds, Binghamton, fresh off a double-header sweep of Maine over the weekend, visits Cornell for a midweek baseball bout and Stony Brook hosts Central Connecticut. In softball, UMBC welcomes La Salle to Baltimore.

Daily Word: America East Schools Stacking Up Nationally

The National Association of Collegiate Directors or Athletics (NACDA) released the latest standings in the Division I Learfield sports Director’s Cup late last week and America East schools litter the list.

Seven of the nine conference members are among the 244 ranked schools. Boston University, New Hampshire, Stony Brook, Vermont, Maine, Binghamton and Albany all received points for their athletic performance this winter to earn rankings. In fact, Vermont and Binghamton entered the rankings for the first time this year.

Boston U., UNH, Stony Brook and UVM hold their own in the top-100 with the Terriers leading the way at No. 69. New Hampshire is not far behind at No. 88 while Stony Brook and Vermont sit at No. 94 and No. 96, respectively. With those four schools, the America East has the third-most members ranked in the Top 100 of the non-BCS conferences trailing just the Ivy League (8) and Mountain West (5).

Boston U. collected the most points of the America East schools with 140 earning points in men’s and women’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s track and field and wrestling. UVM received 125 points thanks to a national skiing championship and a men’s basketball NCAA Tourney win. Binghamton piled up points in track and field and wrestling, Maine scored in ice hockey and track and field, and Albany tallied points in women’s basketball.

                                                            

The Director’s Cup was developed as a joint effort between 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.

To see where our schools stack up, check out the full standings report.

What a weekend it was across America East land in spring sports action.

In men’s lacrosse, we have a three-way tie at the top of the league standings as Stony Brook, Albany, and UMBC all sit at 3-1. Hartford, meanwhile, checks in at 2-2 after defeating Stony Brook in almost the same exact fashion it did to capture the 2011 conference title. Check out Newsday for more on that game. Vermont kept its playoff hopes alive with a win, as well, and WCAX Channel 3 has video highlights from a day that also saw the dedication of the brand new Virtue Field.

Things are just as jumbled in the women’s lacrosse standings and four teams fight for the final two playoff spots. Boston U. will host the tournament as the No. 1 seed and Stony Brook clinched the No. 2 seed with a win over Albany over the weekend. Fox 23 has some highlights of that one. The playoff fates of UMBC, Albany, Vermont and New Hampshire will be decided this weekend.

Stony Brook baseball continued its strong play in the early stages of conference action picking a four-game sweep of Hartford on Long Island over the weekend. Binghamton, meanwhile, received tremendous starting pitching and took a double-header from Maine to snap the Black Bears’ 14-game winning streak. The Press and Sun Bulletin has more from a strong weekend from the Bearcats. In the final series of the weekend, Albany’s bats erupted in Baltimore as the Danes took three of four from UMBC averaging 12 runs per contest.

And on the softball diamond, Stony Brook maintained its hold on first place with two wins against Maine. Freshman pitcher Allison Cukrov broke the Seawolves’ single-season shutout record with her 20^th of the season, a 1-0 blanking in game two on Saturday. Albany took three from Binghamton and Hartford swept UMBC.

Stay tuned to AmericaEast.com for weekly award winners later this afternoon.