The Friday Fives: Basketball Tip-Off Edition

Today is officially college basketball season. The America East men and women will tip off play tonight with 13 teams in action and even more games to come throughout the weekend. 2012-13 is set to be one of the most competitive years in league history, as both the men and the women should see wide open races for the league title. In honor of it all, we bring to you a basketball themed Friday Fives. Here we go!

Five TV Games Versus Ranked Schools

The non-conference season will bring some tough challenges for America East squads, both the men and women, this year. Here are five that will be televised regionally or nationally (rankings from USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll):

1) MBB: Albany at No. 4 Ohio St. -- Sunday, Nov. 11 (Big Ten Network)
2) WBB: Albany at No. 14 Michigan St. -- Wednesday, Nov. 21 (BTN.com)
3) MBB: Maine at T-No. 24 Florida St. -- Sunday, Dec. 9 (ESPNU)
4) MBB: Binghamton at No. 5 Michigan -- Tuesday, Dec. 11 (Big Ten Network)
5) WBB: No. 2 Connecticut at Hartford -- Saturday, Dec. 22 (SNY)

Teams with Five America East Championships

Both the Vermont men and the Hartford women have five America East Championships all-time. Big things are expected from the Catamounts and the Hawks this year as well. Vermont, guided by second-year coach John Becker, was picked to win the league by the coaches in the preseason poll, as the 'Cats will try to reach the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. Jen Rizzotti and Hartford come into the season picked to finish third in the conference by the coaches. The Hawks will be aiming at their second America East title in three years.

Albany's Ebone Henry

Fantastic No. 5's

Dave Coley, No. 5, Stony Brook

Coley is the top returning scorer on a title-hungry Seawolves squad. In 2011-12 as a sophomore, Coley averaged 10 points and 3.6 rebounds while playing 25.6 minutes a game. The Brooklyn native scored 21 points in a game twice last season, as his shooting percentage went up nearly 10 percent from his freshman campaign.

Ebone Henry, No. 5, Albany

Henry returns for her senior campaign looking to lead Albany to another America East title. The conference Defensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons, Henry also led the Great Danes in scoring with 14.3 points per game. Henry is one of two Albany players, joining Julie Forster, to be selected as a preseason all-conference member.

Linked Up: Basketball Style

The latest UMBC Coaches' Corner is a sit-down with new men's head coach Aki Thomas.

Hartford also talked with one of its coaches, as Jen Rizzotti previewed the upcoming season for her squad.

Stony Brook basketball will run a food drive this month to benefit Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

Optimism is high for the New Hampshire basketball teams, writes Brett Ferrell.

The Burlington Free Press takes a look at the Vermont men's team and its bid to repeat.

#FollowFriday

Rather than give you a list of five accounts to follow, NBC's College Basketball Talk blog gave you a ridiculously comprehensive list. Your favorite blog (this one of course) makes an appearance as well. Check it out!

Also make sure to subscribe to our men's and women's basketball lists on Twitter.

A Look at the Upcoming Season with Julie Forster

Julie Forster in last season's America East Championship Game.

America East basketball season is just around the corner, with the season kicking off on Friday. As a part of our hoops coverage here at AExtra, we'll be featuring several guest posts from basketball student-athletes throughout the year. We were lucky enough to have Julie Forster of Albany kick us off.

Forster is a captain for the Great Danes this year, coming off of a season in which she was second-team all-conference. This season, Forster is a pre-season all-conference selection and one of three seniors trying to get Albany back to the NCAA Tournament. Forster is also an excellent student, having been selected to the conference all-academic squad the last two years, and will be pursuing her masters degree this year in addition to leading the Great Danes.

So without further ado, here is Julie Forster:

It was a privilege to be part of the first Albany Women's Basketball team to win the America East Championship and go to the NCAA Tournament. It has been such an honor to represent the University at Albany and the America East on the court these past three years. My time at Albany has really flown by and it's hard to believe I'm a senior already.  

I look back on my decision to walk on to a Division I program, because as I said to my parents “If I don’t try this, I think I’ll regret it for the rest of my life” and realize how truly lucky I am to have had the opportunity to live my dream. I have enjoyed playing with, and against some of the best players and coaches in the country. I think I speak for all the seniors when I say that we are looking forward to competing to the best of our ability with no regrets at the end of the season.  

I also hope our conference continues to gain the respect it so deserves. Until conference play starts, I will be cheering for every America East team as each victory helps us improve our conference's standing. Overall, I'm just excited to start the season and am looking forward to another great year of America East basketball.

Weekend Preview

We took a look at the matchups for Albany field hockey and Stony Brook women's soccer yesterday on the blog, but let's take a quick run through of what else is on the schedule for the weekend.

Men's Soccer

Another America East Champion will be crowned Saturday night in Baltimore. UMBC has continued its red-hot stretch into the playoffs, getting by Stony Brook last night with a 1-0 victory. New Hampshire is on a hot streak of its own, after winning a virtual playoff game against Boston U. just to get into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season. The Wildcats followed up that victory by advancing past Albany in PK's and then going to Vermont yesterday and beating the Cats 1-0.

Pete Caringi III was held scoreless in the Retrievers' semifinal win, but was the conference leader in goals this season with 14 and will be a player to watch. For the Wildcats, Travis Worra is also hot at the right time, having posted three straight shutouts to help New Hampshire get to its second America East final in the last three years (2010 was also against UMBC). The game will be streamed for free on AmericaEast.com. First kick is scheduled for 7 p.m. so don't miss it!

Volleyball

UMBC at Stony Brook, Friday 3 p.m.
Providence at Albany, Friday 4 p.m.
Hartford at New Hampshire, Friday 7 p.m.
Binghamton at Stony Brook, Sunday 12 p.m.
Hartford at Providence, Sunday 1 p.m.
Albany at New Hampshire, Sunday 1 p.m.

It's the last weekend of the volleyball regular season and no school has clinched a playoff spot. As a result, every match will have big time implications. Check out the preview on AmericaEast.com for all the playoff. details.

There is also a full slate of swimming and diving action this weekend, as well as the kickoff of basketball season. Look for a bit more on America East basketball tomorrow on the blog.

Linked Up

Albany men's basketball coach Will Brown lent a hand to Coaches vs. Cancer last night.

Fresh of its College World Series run this spring, Stony Brook has announced its 2013 baseball schedule.

Check out the New Hampshire men's basketball media guide.

Binghamton's SAAC and Soles4Souls are teaming up to put on a shoe drive.

A documentary on Harry Agganis, the former Boston U. star athlete for whom Agganis Arena is named, will premiere in Boston this coming Tuesday. You can also watch the trailer here.

Daily Word: Previewing the NCAA Tournament Matchups

A pair of America East squads have already punched their tickets to the NCAA tournament. Now, Stony Brook women's soccer and Albany field hockey have learned their first round matchups and will begin final preparations. With both games coming this Saturday, let's take a look at those games and go inside the brackets.

WSOC: Stony Brook at No. 9 Maryland

The Seawolves draw a tough matchup in their first ever trip to the NCAA tournament, as they will go up against a team that has been in the top 25 throughout the season. Maryland comes into the tournament having lost in the ACC Championship to No. 3 Virginia, 4-0. The Terps are 13-6-2 this season, led by junior forward Hayley Brock. Brock has 11 goals this season, good for 42nd in the country. 

Maryland has been through the gauntlet in the ACC, as the conference will send nine teams to the NCAA tournament, and will certainly be a very tough task for the Seawolves. If Stony Brook can get by the Terps, it will be guaranteed to face a top 50 RPI squad in either Denver or Colorado College. Coach Sue Ryan stressed that her team was ecstatic to have the opportunity to be together for at least another week, so you have to think that the spirits will be high, regardless of the matchup. 

First kick will be this Saturday at 7 p.m. Stay tuned to AmericaEast.com for broadcast information.

FH: No. 17 Albany at No. 3 Penn St.

After upsetting New Hampshire in the America East final, a red hot Albany team will travel to State College to face a powerhouse Penn St. team. The Nittany Lions, which advanced to the second round of last year's tournament, earned the Big Ten's automatic bid to the NCAA for the second straight year and come in to the first round matchup ranked third in the country in goals per game. Penn St. is led by senior Kelsey Amy, whose 24 goals this season rank fifth in the country.

Albany comes into the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the country, having won eight straight games by a combined score of 29-4. Beating the Lions is certainly a tall task, but the Great Danes could possibly face a Massachusetts team that they have already beat in the second round if they get that far, as the Minutemen face off against Syracuse. 

Stay tuned for broadcast information, as the game will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Linked Up

Former Olympic Champion and Title IX advocate Nancy Hogshead-Makar will speak to Hartford University students.

Vermont men's basketball player Brian Voelkel was named to the Lou Henson preseason All-America Team.

Albany women's lacrosse team announced 11 incoming freshman players.

Maine released its women's basketball Media Guide.

The Stony Brook football team visited the local Children's Hospital.

Daily Word: Men's Soccer Semis By The Numbers

This past weekend in the men's soccer quarterfinals, we had two games that were about as different as possible. Stony Brook and Binghamton combined for nine goals when the Seawolves won in overtime, shattering the previous America East record of five goals in a tournament game. In the other matchup, Albany and New Hampshire played a defensive battle that held both teams scoreless throughout regulation and overtime. With such a stark difference in the style of play between the two games, who knows what we can expect to see tomorrow. That's why we took a look at the numbers and found some trends in the four remaining teams. The semifinal round should produce two games that are just as exciting and dramatic as the first round.

New Hampshire at Vermont

D.J. Edler is one of Vermont's leading scorers.

Vermont won the league's regular season title this year by going undefeated and winning a big time showdown against Stony Brook with first place on the line. A staple of its success all season long was goal prevention, led by Goalkeeper of the Year, Conor Leland. The Catamounts gave up just 16 goals all year. But tomorrow Vermont will run into a New Hampshire team that likes to play a very similar brand of soccer. New Hampshire was third in the conference, only allowing 21 goals this season. Plus, we've already seen what the Wildcats' goaltender, Travis Worra, can do in a big spot. Let's take a look at some other numbers from these two teams.

Shots Taken

Vermont was in the bottom half of the conference in shots taken with 185. Only Hartford and Albany took fewer attempts at the net. The Catamounts rely on Joe Losier and D.J. Edler, both of whom ranked in the top 10 in goals scored, to create their offense. Look for them to capitalize on chances, not necessarily have a ton of them.

Saves

New Hampshire is seventh in the conference in saves with 63, while its goals against average is third in the conference at 1.12. What can this tell us? The Wildcat defense has done a great job this season of limiting opponents' quality chances. Without an official stat for this, we can't tell you for sure, but this theory definitely rung true against Albany.

Travis Worra has been great for the Wildcats in net.

Fouls

Vermont racked up the most whistles in the league with 244 while New Hampshire had just 138, the lowest total in the league. One thing to watch right away when these two teams match up is the style of play. Will things get physical? Or will the two teams back off of each other at all? When the two teams played in the regular season (a 0-0 in two overtimes, by the way), Vermont had 16 fouls to New Hampshire's 11. Both teams were above their respective season averages.



Stony Brook at UMBC

Pete Caringi III finished the season on a tear.

Stony Brook was picked to win the league before the season started, but faltered just a bit down the stretch, losing tough games to both UMBC and Vermont. On the other hand, UMBC got red hot in the final leg, winning five consecutive matches to end the season. The Seawolves just showed what they can do in a playoff game, racking up five goals in a win, but what is going to happen when these two squads match up against one another? Let's go to the numbers.

Goals

This likely isn't a surprise, but these two squads are one and two in goals scored this season. UMBC has knocked in 34 to Stony Brook's 32. Additionally, the Retrievers and the Seawolves are both in the top three in shots taken and have all four of the highest single-game goal totals in the conference. UMBC racked up seven against Hartford (when Pete Caringi III had four) and five against Boston U. (when Caringi III had three) and Stony Brook pumped in five goals twice this season, with the most recent occasion coming in the quarterfinals.

Corner Kicks

UMBC has piled up 129 corner kicks this season, 32 more than the next highest total. If nothing else, this means that the Retrievers are consistently in the opponents' end of the field. It also seemed like every time you would turn on a UMBC highlight, there was a goal on a corner kick. Keep an eye on these chances tomorrow. Another related stat, UMBC is the conference leader in offsides with 37. Just another number that evidences the Retrievers' style of play: fast and aggressive.

Leonardo Fernandes leads a dangerous Stony Brook attack.

Scorers

Both of these teams have so many players that can do damage, but Stony Brook has a unique balance on its attack. The Seawolves are the only team in the conference with five players that have scored three or more goals. They are also the only team that has more than two players with five goals, as Leonardo Fernandes, Raphael Abreu and Alejandro Fritz all have more than five. UMBC also has multiple dangerous scorers, but Caringi III is the only one them with more than five scores.

Overall, we're looking at two incredibly exciting matchups in the semifinals. One way or another, when the finals roll around we will see a great offense take on a great defense.

Linked Up

Our thoughts are with the Boston U. athletic community, as former swimming and diving coach Reagh "Doc" Wetmore has passed away.

Junior guard Kelsey Hogan has been named captain of New Hampshire's women's basketball team.

Albany fans, check out the new DANEger Zone Rewards page on Facebook to see how you can get rewards for attending games.

Get an inside look at Stony Brook's women's basketball program.

While we're on Stony Brook, check out the NCAA women's soccer bracket, where Stony Brook will face off against Maryland in the first round.

AEC Rewind

What a weekend it was in the America East! A one goal game in the women's soccer final, Albany winning its third field hockey title in five years and a pair of overtime games in the men's soccer quarterfinals (two very different games). Volleyball also continued its charge towards the postseason, as no team has officially locked up a playoff spot yet. It's been a great Fall Championship season so far, but it's not over just yet. Let's look back on this weekend's games.

Box Scores, Recaps and Highlights

Women's Soccer

Stony Brook celebrating its first women's soccer championship.

Stony Brook became the first No. 6 seed to win the women's soccer tournament, capturing a 1-0 win over Hartford. It was a physical game on both sides, as the Seawolves made an early goal by Larissa Nysch stand up for the rest of the game. Hartford nearly tied the game twice in the last fifteen minutes, one chance coming from the conference Striker of the Year, Amelia Pereira. Today at 4:30, Stony Brook will find out where they get to play next.

Box/Recap/Highlights/Women's Soccer Championship Central



Field Hockey

Albany has won three field hockey titles in the last five years.

Albany's two first half goals were enough to beat top seeded New Hampshire. First-Team All-Conference selection Corrine McConville got the scoring going in the first before Co-Offensive Player of the Year Daphne Voormolen tacked on what would prove to be the winning goal. McConville added another goal in the second half to put the game out of reach, as the Great Danes would go on to win 3-1. Albany is red hot at the right time, having won its last eight games by a combined score of 29-4. The field hockey bracket will be unveiled tomorrow night.

Box/Recap/Highlights/Field Hockey Championship Central

Men's Soccer

Binghamton 4, at Stony Brook 5 (OT)
New Hampshire 0, at Albany 0 (2OT); New Hampshire advances on PKs 5-4 in six rounds.

The men's soccer quarterfinals were a tale of two very different games. In the first game, Binghamton and Stony Brook combined for nine goals as the Seawolves came out on top. This one was full of drama, as Stony Brook trailed 4-2 with 20 minutes to go before storming back and scoring three unanswered, including the overtime period, to advance. Alejandro Fritz tied an America East Championship single game record with five points on two goals and an assist. Stony Brook will face UMBC on Wednesday.

Box/Recap

In the nightcap, Albany and New Hampshire went 110 minutes without a goal. It was a decidedly defensive battle, as neither team has many scoring chances throughout regulation and overtime. In penalty kicks, Wildcats' goalkeeper Travis Worra stopped the first and last shots that he saw, the save coming on a brilliant diving effort to stop a shot headed to the lower right side. New Hampshire will now travel to Vermont for the semifinals on Wednesday.

Box/Recap

Quarterfinals Highlights/Men's Soccer Championship Central

Volleyball

Hartford 0, at Binghamton 3
Albany 1, at UMBC 3
Providence 0, at Stony Brook 3
New Hampshire 1, at Stony Brook 3
Hartford 0, at UMBC 3
Binghamton 1, at Albany 3

Stony is getting hot in the season's final leg, as the Seawolves grabbed two victories on the weekend and are now tied for fourth place. Albany continues to lead the conference, finding itself two games up on UMBC with two matches left. The Great Danes need just one win to clinch the regular season title. Visit the weekend recap on AmericaEast.com for box scores and more.

Linked Up

The Basketball Times ranked Vermont's men's team as one of the top programs in its 2012 rankings.

Stony Brook's Alejandro Fritz earned national accolades from College Soccer News after his record tying performance in the men's soccer quarterfinals.

Tim Hieman will be the voice of Binghamton women's basketball this season.

Albany continued its Get To Know Your Great Danes video series with Blake Metcalf.

Staying with the Great Danes, the Times Unions says that expectations are high for the men's basketball team.

What's Next? 

No games tonight, as America East action will ramp up again on Wednesday with the men's soccer semifinals.