The Friday Fives

The Friday Fives are back and better than ever today. You know the drill: here are five lists of five that recap the week that was, and get you ready for upcoming weekend. Enjoy!

Top Plays




Games to Watch

- FH: New Hampshire makes the journey to Virginia on Sunday at 1 p.m. to face No. 5 Virginia. The Wildcats will be taking on the second ranked team of the weekend, after the matchup this afternoon with No. 22 Albany.

- MSOC: Big game in Stony Brook this Saturday night, as Boston U. comes to town. We took a closer look at this game yesterday on the blog.

- WSOC: Amelia Pereira puts her now five-game points scored streak on the line against Albany on Sunday in a matchup between two top three teams in the America East. Certainly a lot to watch for.

- VB: New Hampshire is undefeated in conference play, but can it slow down Melissa Rigo of Stony Brook? We'll find out tonight at 7 p.m.

- XC: Boston U., Hartford, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are at the New England Collegiate Championships on Sunday. Can Corey Conner win again?

The Numbers Game

4-0: Women's soccer road teams went undefeated last night after only managing a 3-8-2 mark in the games before that. Something to keep an eye on for Sunday's games.

5: We mentioned it before, but Pereria tied her personal best scoring streak with a goal last night. She'll be looking to extend the streak to six. Pereira also leads the conference in goals, assists and points. Safe to say she's having a good year.

62: Albany's Tim Allen is third in the nation with his 62 saves on the year. The Great Danes take on Binghamton Saturday night.

.841: Boston U.'s Jess Maroney is number two in the country with this save percentage. She's also seventh in the nation in goals against average.

2.05: UMBC leads the conference in blocks per set, largely on the strength of Emily Witasman, who leads all individuals with 1.18 BPS.

Lights, Camera, Action

Check out some of the awesome videos are schools are putting out:

The Vermont Catamount Weekly

Stony Brook's Get Your Red On Minute

Maine Black Bear Insider: featuring Coach Babineau (field hockey)

UMBC's Coach's Corner: featuring Coach Cradock (swimming and diving)

New Hampshire Cat Chats: featuring field hockey player Casey Pohlmeyer

America East Social Media Lineup

We're doing all kinds of stuff on social media throughout the week, and we want you to get involved! Check out the weekly lineup:

- Monday Rewind: You know about the weekend recap here on AExtra, but make sure to submit your photos from the weekend for a chance to be the Picture of the Week.

- Trivia Tuesday: We post a trivia question. If you're the first one to answer correctly, we send you free things. Awesome, right?

- Who Knew Wednesday: Want to know more about the conference? We've got you covered with a fact we dug up just for the occasion.

- Throwback Thursday: Relive the great history of the conference with us as we highlight a throwback moment each week.

- Fan Friday: It's all about you. Read up on the Friday Fives and let us know how you'll be enjoying America East games over the weekend. If you send us pictures of you and friends at a game, we'll post our favorites!

Daily Word: Weekend Preview

While America East conference play will continue this weekend, there's another event that we'll be watching closely. The fifth annual Catamount Classic comes to Thayer Academy in Braintree, Mass. this Saturday and Sunday. If you're not familiar with the event, the University of Vermont men's lacrosse team started it in 2008 as an effort to raise awareness and money for cancer research, after one of their teammates had been diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2007. Since then, the annual lacrosse tournament has raised nearly $130,000 that has all gone to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. It's truly a great event that continues to grow.

There also happens to be some top notch lacrosse played and this weekend we'll be there to watch nine women's teams and 18 men's teams get together to play more than 70 games in two days. If you're in the area, make sure to come by and check it out. Tickets can be purchased online at the tournament website, www.catamountclassic.com. You can also find more information about the tournament itself or make a donation, even if you can't make it to the games.

We've got a bunch of conference action coming up this weekend, so let's get into the weekend preview...

Women's Soccer

Hartford at Maine, Thursday 3:00 p.m.
Boston U. at UMBC, Thursday 7:00 p.m.
Albany at Binghamton, Thursday 7:00 p.m.
Vermont at Stony Brook, Thursday 7:00 p.m.
Maine at Binghamton, Sunday 12:00 p.m.
Stony Brook at Boston U., Sunday 1:00 p.m.
Vermont at New Hampshire, Sunday 2:00 p.m.
Albany at Hartford, Sunday 2:00 p.m.

The Big Game

It's actually happening right now and you can check out the live stats as the second half gets underway. Hartford and Maine are two of the top three teams in the league and the Hawks come in riding a three game win streak. Keep an eye on Amelia Pereira, who is scoreless after one half, to see if she can extend that points streak we talked about on the blog yesterday.

Men's Soccer

Boston U. at Stony Brook, Friday 7:00 p.m.
Hartford at Vermont, Saturday 12:00 p.m.
UMBC at New Hampshire, Saturday 7:00 p.m.
Binghamton at Albany, Saturday 7:00 p.m.

The Big Game

Boston U. travels to Stony Brook tomorrow night in an effort to knock off a team that hasn't lost in almost a month. Leonardo Fernandes continues his excellent senior campaign, having notched a point in five straight matches coming in. Boston U. opened it conference schedule with a tie against Hartford last weekend, after completing its grueling non-conference slate. This should be a good one.

Field Hockey

Albany at New Hampshire, Friday 3:00 p.m.
Boston U. at Vermont, Saturday 12:00 p.m.
Fairfield at Maine, Saturday 1:00 p.m.
New Hampshire at Virginia, Sunday 1:00 p.m.
Columbia at Albany, Sunday 1:00 p.m.

The Big Game(s)

What a huge weekend this is for No. 19 New Hampshire. First, it will square off against No. 22 Albany, which is coming off a victory over No. 25 in last week's poll, Louisville. Then, the Wildcats will take aim at the No. 5 Virginia Cavaliers, which knocked off No. 12 Boston U. last Sunday. After coming close to a few huge wins this season, it will be fun to watch New Hampshire test itself against two of the nation's best.

Volleyball

UMBC at Hartford, Friday 6:00 p.m.
Binghamton at Albany, Friday 7:00 p.m.
Stony Brook at New Hampshire, Friday 7:00 p.m.
Binghamton at Hartford, Saturday 6:00 p.m.
Stony Brook at Providence, Sunday 1:00 p.m.
UMBC at Albany, Sunday 2:00 p.m.

The Big Game

Can Binghamton, which has already knocked off fellow New York squad Syracuse this season, give Albany just its fourth America East defeat since 2008? Albany is off to a fast 2-0 start, but Binghamton is not far behind, starting 2-1. The Great Danes went undefeated at home in conference play last season and has won its only home match of 2012.

Cross Country

Boston U., Hartford, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont will all be running in the New England Collegiate Championships on Sunday.

Linked Up

Good news for Stony Brook fans -- Disney and Cablevision reached an agreement to add ESPN3 and WatchESPN.

An advising/mentoring program at Binghamton has taken off.

The 'staches are coming in well for Hartford's men's lacrosse team, as we saw today from this tweet. Read about the fundraiser here.

A pair of UMBC men's lacrosse alums are part of a U.S. National Team.

The Maine Campus has a feature on women's soccer player Maggie Malone.

Daily Word: Inside Pereira's Scoring Surge

Pereira leads all America East scorers.

Before Hartford's game against Holy Cross on September 13th, Amelia Pereira had scored seven points in six games. She was having a solid season, on pace for 19 points, which would have put her just short of last season's 21 point showing. Her team was playing at pace much the same: the Hawks were 2-2-2 and had been held scoreless in the previous two contests.

But that night against Holy Cross the season turned for both Pereira and her team very quickly. Behind two goals and two assists from Pereira, Hartford ran past the Crusaders by a score of 4-0 and with that began a six game unbeaten streak for the Hawks. Pereira has tallied a point in five of those games, including the last four straight. Three times in her last four games she has gone for multiple points including four against UMBC last Thursday. As a result of her torrid scoring pace, she now ranks 22nd in the country in points per game (1.83) and is on pace for 31 points, which would shatter her career high as a Hawk.

She'll also be gunning to set some new personal collegiate bests over the next five games, taking aim at career highs from her time at Martin Methodist College (NAIA). Before Pereira came to the America East, she was scorching the back of the net in her freshman year as a member of the Red Hawks (we're left to assume that she has an affinity for feathered mascots). That season (2009), Pereira racked up 34 points and also had a streak of four games with a point scored.

So as this America East regular season comes to a close, we'll be watching for Pereira to break both marks. She has an opportunity to make it five straight games with a point tomorrow afternoon in a conference tangle with Maine. As for the points mark, she currently sits at 22, needing 13 more to break her personal best. Over her previous six matches, she averaged 2.5 points per game. If she can continue that pace over her next five, she would tie her old mark. It's going to be tough, but certainly something to watch for.

Box Scores, Recaps and Highlights

Men's Soccer

Boston U. found the back of the net three times in the first half and cruised to a victory: vs. Adelphi (Box/Recap/Highlights)

A pair of UMBC players notched their first collegiate goal in a home win: vs. Howard (Box/Recap/Highlights)

Women's Soccer

New Hampshire dropped a non-conference matchup: vs. Harvard (Box/Recap)

Volleyball

Providence fell in straight sets: at Bryant (Box/Recap)

Linked Up

Stony Brook alum Tom Koehler is going to make his first Major League start tonight against the Mets.

Lacrosse Magazine took a look at the co-coach system at UMBC.

Vermont student-athletes are doing their part in the community. Take a look at what the field hockey and men's lacrosse teams have been up to.

Binghamton added a women's basketball assistant coach for the upcoming season.

Stony Brook men's basketball put on the eighth annual Fun Run on campus last Sunday.

What's Next?

Just two games today, as Vermont hosts Dartmouth in men's soccer and Fairfield welcomes Siena in field hockey. Both games are already underway.

Daily Word: Volleyball Rookies Making Their Mark

Sherelle Walker has been a standout for UMBC.

It's been awhile since one rookie, let alone two, has done what a pair of volleyball rookies are doing so far in 2012. Melissa Rigo of Stony Brook and Sherelle Walker of UMBC are both in the top five for kills and hitting percentage. The last time even one volleyball rookie finished the season top five in kills was 2006, when Ashley Oscars of UMBC finished 4th. If this pair of hitters can keep it up, it would be a somewhat unprecedented accomplishment in the America East.

Rigo has 257 kills on the season and is first in the conference with 4.36 kills per set. These stellar numbers are good enough to place her 23rd in the country in the kills per set statistic. Currently, she's averaging just over 17 kills per match, which would put her on pace for 428 kills on the season. Walker rounds out the top five in kills per set, as she has 223 on the year and 3.05 per set. And although Rigo is ahead of her there, Walker actually has a slight edge in hitting percentage (.238 to .233) as the pair ranks fourth and fifth respectively.

Although it doesn't appear we'll see it from them this season, perhaps the future holds something for these two rookies that we haven't seen since 2007: 500 kills. That year, a pair of seniors from Stony Brook both shattered the mark. Jackie Ahlers actually set the all-time single-season mark that year, tallying 620 kills before seasons end, while teammate Morgan Sweany eclipsed the 500 mark with a total of 527.

The impressive rookie campaigns from Rigo and Walker, who have combined to earn Rookie of the Week honors five times already, makes the future look extremely bright for their respective schools. As we move into conference play, make sure to keep an eye on the stats to see if they can keep up their top five pace.

No games last night, so let's get right into the links...

Linked Up

Binghamton held its third annual walk to honor a fallen student.

More from Binghamton, this time with news on another former Bearcat who is pitching professionally.

In case you missed it, six men's lacrosse alums were selected in the NLL draft.

Vermont announced its women's basketball captains today.

Some football today, as New Hampshire is now has the longest current streak of being in the Top 25 -- 118 weeks.

What's Next?

Men's Soccer

Boston U. vs. Adelphi, 7 p.m.
UMBC vs. Howard, 7 p.m.

Women's Soccer

New Hampshire vs. Harvard, 7 p.m.

Volleyball

Providence at Bryant, 7 p.m.

Daily Word: AEC Rewind

Zoe Boyd after her game-tying goal against Boston U.
(Photo courtesy of Vermont).

What a weekend we had in the America East. Seventeen conference games were played over the weekend and there was no shortage of drama among them. In men's and women's soccer, every single game was either decided by a single goal or a draw and five of the eight games went into overtime. Field Hockey played three America East contests, with two games being decided by a single tally and one going into extra time. Pair that with some exciting non-conference field hockey action, six volleyball contests and busy slate for cross country and you've got a very busy weekend. So just in case you couldn't pull yourself away from the Ryder Cup this weekend, AExtra has got a full weekend recap for you. And without further ado...

Box Scores, Recaps and Highlights

Men's Soccer

Leonardo Fernandes did it again, scoring the game's only goal to push Stony Brook past Albany on the road. Also congratulations to Stefan Manz for becoming Stony Brook's career shutout leader: Box/Recap

A second-half goal helped Boston U. earn a draw against visiting Hartford: Box/Recap/Highlights

Host Vermont got two goals in the final 10 minutes to get past UMBC, which had been on a three-game win streak: Box/Recap

Jake Keegan added another highlight to his 2012 season, netting the game-winner in the 96th minute to down New Hampshire at home: Box/Recap/Highlights

Women's Soccer

UMBC and Maine battled to a 1-1 draw in Baltimore: Box/Recap

Madison Clemens put the team on her back, scoring two goals, including the game winner in overtime, as Boston U. overcame a late Vermont push on the road: Box/Recap/Highlights

Hartford got the game-winner in the 80th minute to sink New Hampshire on the road: Box/Recap

Freshman Kristen Baker came up big for Stony Brook, netting two goals to knock off a visiting Binghamton: Box/Recap

Field Hockey

Conference

Tabi Hatch took it upon herself to make sure Boston U. got past Albany on the road. Within a nine minute span, she had knocked in the game-tying and game-winning goals: Box/Recap/Highlights

Hannah Richard continues to find the back of the cage, this time banging in two goals, including the game-winner in overtime, as New Hampshire held off Fairfield on the road: Box/Recap

Maine used a pair of second-half goals to get by Vermont on the road and push its winning streak to six: Box/Recap/Highlights

Non-Conference

Fairfield 1, at Brown 3: Box/Recap

(23) Albany 3, vs. (25) Louisville 1: Box/Recap/Highlights

(15) New Hampshire 2, at (20) Drexel 3: Box/Recap

(24) Maine 2, at Massachusetts 4: Box/Recap

(12) Boston U. 2, vs. (5) Connecticut 3: Box/Recap/Highlights

Volleyball

Morgan Thatcher led the way for New Hampshire in a victory over UMBC on the road to stretch its win streak to five: Box/Recap

Melissa Rigo reached 20 kills as Stony Brook took care of Hartford 3-1 at home: Box/Recap

Binghamton managed 13 blocks as a team as it downed Providence in straight sets at home: Box/Recap/Highlights

New Hampshire slowed down a hot Binghamton squad on the road to earn its sixth straight win: Box/Recap

Albany continued its winning ways in America East play, downing Stony Brook on the road 3-1: Box/Recap

Host UMBC got its first America East over Providence thanks to 17 kills from Sherelle Walker: Box/Recap/Highlights

Cross Country

Five America East Squads ran at the Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh. In the men's gold race (37 teams), Boston U. took 15th, New Hampshire finished 33rd and Binghamton came in at 35th. Stony Brook and Vermont ran in the men's brown race (33 teams), finishing third and 11th respectively.

On the women's side, all five teams ran in the gold race (40 teams). New Hampshire led the way in ninth, followed by Stony Brook (11th), Vermont (12th), Boston U. (26th) and Binghamton (36th).

At the George Mason Invitational, both the UMBC men and women came in fourth out of seven teams: Men/Women

Both the Albany men and women won in the 46th annual UAlbany Invitational: Men/Women

Linked Up

The Maine Campus has a profile on Maine Athletic Director Steve Abbott and his time so far in Orono.

Vermont native turned Catamount goalkeeper Conor Leland is making the most of his opportunity.

Binghamton alum Scott Diamond went seven and a third on Friday night in a no-decision against Detroit. The crafty lefty has one more start remaining this year, as he'll start the season finale against Toronto.

Four America East squads appear in this week's Northeast regional cross country rankings.

Some football action for you:

• Stony Brook got its first-ever win over an FBS squad.
• New Hampshire knocked off the No. 8 FCS team.
• Albany had a convincing win in NEC play on Saturday.
• Maine dropped its CAA opener.

What's Next?

No games tonight, but the America East has plenty of content to keep you busy as part of our Monday Rewind. Check out the Weekend Social Media Recap and keep an eye out for the weekly sport releases, and the AE Picture of the Week!