The Friday Fives

AExtra is back again with this week's edition of the Friday Fives. We've got the newest top plays for you in the America East conference, featuring an NCAA tournament win and a basketball upset, to go along with all the stats and info you need to get the most out of the upcoming weekend in the America East. Enjoy!

Top Plays

Marquee Matchups

MSOC: How about UMBC playing the nation's No. 5 seed in the second round of the College Cup in North Carolina? The Retrievers advanced in penalty kicks versus Old Dominion to set up the Sunday showdown in Chapel Hill.

MBB: Boston U. will host George Washington on Saturday afternoon in what will be the first of two good non-conference battles to take place in Boston on Saturday. The Terriers face a reloading GW squad led by a very familiar face: former Vermont coach Mike Lonergan.

MBB: The nightcap in Boston on Saturday will pit Vermont against Northeastern. This is just the Catamounts second matchup against Northeastern since the Huskies became a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. Last season Northeastern downed Vermont 53-51 in Burlington.

WBB: Boston U. will take on a Richmond team that made it to the second round of the NIT Tournament last season. The Terriers have already knocked off Commonwealth Ave. rival Boston College this season.You can look for that game tonight at 7 p.m. in Boston.

WBB: An America East double dip with the Spiders? Why not? Hartford will also take on Richmond this weekend, the Hawks an NIT team from last year as well. Hartford is coming off a win over a Marist squad that nearly made the Sweet 16 last year, so a win Sunday would be another notch on the resume for Coach Rizzotti and her squad.

Lauren Chase of UMBC

The Numbers Game

19: Mike Black and D.J. Irving are tied for the scoring lead at this very early point in the season. Black of course helped Albany defeat Pac-12 contender Washington a on Tuesday and has 42 points in his last two games.

0: Goals allowed by the UMBC men's soccer team since October 27 versus Binghamton. If you go back to October 19 versus Stony Brook, the Retrievers have only let up 1 goal in that time span. Pretty incredible stretch by the boys from Baltimore.

10: The number of free throw attempts UMBC guard Lauren Chase is averaging per game so far in 2012-13. The sophomore floor general has been slicing and dicing defenses in her first three games, averaging 18.3 ppg and 6 apg.

4-0: Stony Brook can get to that mark on Sunday with a win over Sacred Heart. If it does, the Seawolves will be 4-0 for the first time ever as a Division I team.

42: Albany's Ebone Henry and Julie Forster have been great as advertised so far, accounting for just over 42 percent of the Great Danes scoring output in the first two games of the year. Albany will take on Western Michigan this weekend.

Fantastic Five

Here are five players to keep an eye on this weekend...

Alasdair Fraser, Maine: Fraser posted a big double-double (21 pts, 15 reb) last time out against Holy Cross. The preseason All-Conference selection looks poised for a big year.

Maine's Alasdair Fraser

Kelsey Hogan, New Hampshire: The junior captain was the Wildcats leading scorer from the guard position in the season opening victory over Yale. Hogan will be key for New Hampshire this year.

Jordan Reed, Binghamton: Reed showed his potential in his first time out for the Bearcats this week, posting a double-double (15 pts, 11 reb) in a loss to Navy.

Lauren Buschman, Vermont: The senior is at the heart of this Vermont squad. Buschman recorded her 500th career rebound against Providence on Wednesday in a 20 point, 8 rebound effort.

Phil Saunders, UMBC: What more is there to say about the UMBC keeper? He has been spectacular in postseason play, turning away big opportunities in regulation and overtime. Can he do it again versus the Tar Heels?

Linked Up

ESPN's Andy Katz takes a look at the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off, with some nice words about Albany and Mike Black.

Vermont basketball teams pitched in to help a local food shelf in advance of Thanksgiving next week.

Check out this week's Get Your Red On Minute from Stony Brook.

Maine baseball announced the signing of six recruits for 2013-14.

America East Co-Setter of the Year Amanda Dettman is Binghamton's Athlete of the Week.

Daily Word: Weekend Preview

Which team will win this year's volleyball crown?

For the fourth consecutive weekend, we will crown an America East Champion. To recap up to this point, the Stony Brook men and women were crowned in cross country, Albany won the field hockey title, Stony Brook won the women's soccer championship as a No. 6 and UMBC bested New Hampshire in penalty kicks to win men's soccer. Got all that?

This weekend we move indoors for the America East volleyball tournament. Four teams will come to Albany vying for the title, including the Great Danes themselves. What else is on the slate this weekend? Tonight, UMBC tries to become the ninth America East men's soccer team in 12 years to win a game in the NCAA Tournament. On top of that there are 21 men's and women's basketball games and four schools in action in the pools. As always, we're in for another exciting here at the America East.

Men's Soccer

After advancing to the College Cup for the second time in three years, UMBC is looking for another tournament win in 2012. Last time around, the Retrievers downed Princeton 1-0 before falling to William & Mary after PK's. If they win again in 2012, they'll likely do so with their leading scorer either out or at less than 100%. Pete Caringi III went down in just the third minute of the America East Championship game with an apparent ankle injury and did not reenter. UMBC will be looking to recreate its stellar defensive effort in order to continue on into the second round of the College Cup.

How about the opposition? Old Dominion comes into the game as the 24th ranked team in the country, having gone 11-3-2 on the year. The Monarchs, however, have not played since November 2, as they were ineligible for postseason play in the Colonial, following the announcement that they will be moving to Conference USA next year. However, Old Dominion brings a formidable offense to the table nonetheless. Ranked 14th in goals per game with 2.06, the Monarchs are led by junior forward Tim Hopkinson.

You can keep track of the game, which kicks off tonight at 7 p.m., via live stats courtesy of Old Dominion.

Volleyball

The tournament will get started on Friday night as No. 2 Binghamton plays No. 3 UMBC at 4 p.m., followed by top seed Albany taking on No. 4 New Hampshire at 7 p.m. The Great Danes have won six of the last eight America East Championships, including the last two in a row. UMBC was one of two teams to beat Albany during the regular season, but the Retrievers will have to get past a Binghamton squad against which they were 1-1.

AmericaEast.com is your source for everything about the upcoming tournament. Here is a preview and visit Championship Central for the schedule, past results and much more.

How will Mike Black and Albany
follow up their big win?

Men's Basketball

Binghamton at Army, Friday 4 p.m.
Sacred Heart at Hartford, Friday 7 p.m.
George Washington at Boston U., Saturday 1 p.m.
New Hampshire at Bryant, Saturday 1 p.m.
Albany vs UMKC^, Saturday 2:30 p.m.
Vermont at Northeastern, Saturday 7 p.m.
Brown at Maine, Saturday 7 p.m.
Albany vs. TBA^, Sunday
Sacred Heart at Stony Brook, Sunday 2 p.m.
Saint Peter's at Binghamton, Sunday 2 p.m.

^ = Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off

Some huge non-conference matchups this weekend all around the America East. Albany will be looking to follow up its thrilling victory over Washington from a few nights ago, while Stony Brook looks to stay undefeated on Sunday. Visit AmericaEast.com for all the live streaming and stats links.

Women's Basketball

Richmond at Boston U., Friday 7 p.m.
Hartford at Central Connecticut St., Friday 7 p.m.
Brown at Vermont, Saturday 1 p.m.
New Hampshire at Holy Cross, Saturday 1 p.m.
Maine vs UNLV^, Saturday 2 p.m.
Loyola at UMBC, Saturday 2 p.m.
Maine vs. TBA^, Sunday
Richmond at Hartford, Sunday 2 p.m.
Albany at Western Michigan, Sunday 2 p.m.
Stony Brook at Morgan St., Sunday 2 p.m.
Binghamton at Austin Peay, Sunday 3 p.m.

^ = Subway Classic at Minnesota

Maine will be a team to watch this week, going up against either Ohio or Minnesota on Sunday after facing a UNLV squad that was in the NIT last season. A pair of America East squads will try their hand at knocking off Richmond this weekend. The Spiders were also an NIT squad a year ago. Visit AmericaEast.com for all the live coverage links.

Check out this week's release for all the Swimming and Diving news and the weekend schedule.

Linked Up

ESPN's Graham Hayes takes a look at the big time rivalry that is Hartford versus Marist women's basketball.

Will Brown talks about Albany's upset win over Washington in this College Insider podcast.

New Hampshire announced two men's basketball signings for the 2013-14 season.

In case you missed it yesterday, Albany and Vermont men's basketball will be a part of this year's ESPN Bracketbusters Pool.

An excellent read from the Baltimore Sun today on UMBC goalie Phil Saunders, who is honoring his father with his play this season.

Daily Word: A Big Day for America East Hoops

Albany upset Washington on a last-second layup.

The day began at 6 a.m. in Lawrenceville, N.J., where Stony Brook was taking on Rider in the ESPN Tip-Off Marathon. Seven more games followed and it turned into a pretty awesome day for America East hoops. For starters, as we told you yesterday on the blog, Stony Brook clamped down on defense to earn a victory over Rider. America East teams went on to improve to 5-3 for the day, highlighted by a big victory on the West Coast.

Albany paid a visit to defending Pac-12 regular season champion Washington last night as a part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off. Earlier this week the Great Danes battled Ohio St. as a part of the same tournament, losing that one 82-60. But even in that game, Albany gave the home crowd a bit of a scare before succumbing to the Buckeyes. Apparently Coach Will Brown got his team ready for another big game environment in a hurry.

With 7.6 seconds left in the game, senior guard and preseason all-conference selection Mike Black took matters into his own hands. Already with 20 points during a game in which the Great Danes had pushed the Huskies to the limit, his performance would have been recalled fondly no matter what happened next. But with a quick crossover to his left followed by an explosive step towards the basket, Black was able to create just enough space to bank in a right-handed layup and put Albany on top 63-62 with just 3.2 seconds remaining.

The drama, however, was not over. Abdul Gaddy, who led Washington with 16 points, raced up the court in an attempt to save the day. Albany, not wanting to foul, ceded just a touch to Gaddy's charge and yielded a pretty decent look from just under 30 feet. The Great Danes held their breath for the final second, as they watched the last-second shot clang off the iron, meaning they were now free to mob the game's hero, Mike Black. The win was the 10th over a BCS conference foe for America East squads since 2008 and perhaps one of the biggest wins ever for Albany.

Check out highlights of the game-winning play from the Pac-12 Network.

Albany made no excuses, writes Mason Kelly, and for that they came out on top.

Here is the box score and recap.

Box Scores, Recaps and Highlights

Men's Basketball

Stony Brook beat Rider and is now 2-0 in ESPN games at 6 a.m.: Box/Recap

Vermont fought hard, but in the end Connecticut was just too much: Box/Recap/Highlights

Hartford had a halftime lead, but couldn't hold off Mt. Saint Mary's: Box/Recap/Highlights

New Hampshire earned a solid road win over Dartmouth: Box/Recap

Women's Basketball

Maine trailed by just four at halftime, but couldn't hold of Syracuse: Box/Recap

Hartford used a second half run to get past Marist: Box/Recap/Highlights

Ebone Henry had a double-double in Albany's win over LIU-Brooklyn: Box/Recap/Highlights

Linked Up

The November episode of Inside Wildcat Country is now up.

Newsday writes about how defense drives the bus in Stony Brook.

Newcomers to the Binghamton women's basketball team are eager to play on their home floor.

The UMBC student paper named Phil Saunders its Athlete of the Week, after the keeper earned MOP honors in the conference tournament.

Hartford announced its baseball schedule for the upcoming season.

What's Next?

Men's Basketball

Binghamton at Navy, 7 p.m.
Maine at Holy Croos, 7 p.m.
UMBC at Loyola, 9 p.m.

Women's Basketball

Coppin State at UMBC, 7 p.m.
New Hampshire at Yale, 7 p.m.
Vermont at Providence, 7 p.m.
Cornell at Binghamton, 7 p.m.

Daily Word: The Tip-Off Marathon

Early morning warm-ups at Rider.

The Stony Brook men's basketball team had a real early wake up call this morning. For the second time in three years, the Seawolves were set to play a 6 a.m. game as a part of ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon, which slots college basketball games for 24 consecutive hours to celebrate the beginning of the season. If you think that's as awesome as it sounds, well you're absolutely right. Here at the office we've been watching basketball since the 6 a.m. tip. And the Seawolves treated us to great win.

Dave Coley and Anthony Jackson both had 12 points as Stony Brook had (in Fran Fraschilla's words) a "grind-it-out" victory over Rider. The trademark Seawolves defense was at it again this morning, holding their opposition to 46 points on 30.8% shooting. It is just a continuation of last season's success for Coach Steve Pikiell and his team, which allowed just 59.1 points per game in 2011-12 and boasted the America East Defensive Player of the Year in Tommy Brenton. In addition, the Seawolves are now 3-0 for the first time since November 2009, with a chance to go 4-0 for the first time since 1990 when Sacred Heart comes to town on Sunday.

And what did the guys think of the opportunity to play on ESPN with the early start time? "If you need something extra to get excited for an ESPN game, I don't know what to tell you," said Brenton in this Newsday article.

Wake up time!

From the Stony Brook game recap, Coach Pikiell added: "The guys did a real good job with less than 48 hours to prepare for a big basketball game. This is a great game for us -- we're happy to be on ESPN in a great environment. It's great for our progam, and it's exciting to get a win".

As Coach Orion said in D3: The Mighty Ducks: "You gotta get up early if you wanna hunt goose eggs".

(Pictures courtesy of the @SBAthletics Twitter account.)



Box Scores, Recaps and Highlights

Men's Basketball

Boston U. rallied from down 15, but couldn't get past Canisius: Box/Recap/Highlights

Coach Aki Thomas got his first victory, as UMBC beat Eastern in its home opener: Box/Recap/Highlights

Women's Basketball

Chantell Alford dropped 30 points, but it wasn't enough as Boston U. lost a heartbreaker to nationally ranked West Virginia: Box/Recap/Highlights

Linked Up

The New Hampshire women's basketball team is getting ready for a new year (video).

Daphne Elliot is Hartford's Mooyah Player of the Week (video).

America East school and CFES are partnering for a mentoring project.

Stony Brook softball will host a pair of hitting clinics in December.

Former UMBC women's basketball player Michelle Kurowski has signed a contract to play overseas.

What's Next?

Men's Basketball

Vermont at Connecticut, 7 p.m.
Hartford at Mt. Saint Mary's, 7 p.m.
New Hampshire at Dartmouth, 7 p.m.
Albany at Washington, 9:30 p.m.

Women's Basketball

Syracuse at Maine, 7 p.m.
Marist at Hartford, 7 p.m.
LIU Brooklyn at Albany, 7 p.m.

AEC Rewind

UMBC after capturing the 2012 America East title.

Another weekend has passed and another America East Champion has been crowned. The UMBC Retrievers won a second men's soccer title in the last three years on Saturday night, advancing past New Hampshire in penalty kicks after no goals were scored in the first 110 minutes. But while there were no goals, the game certainly had no shortage of heart stopping moments, including some brilliant saves from both keepers and a rocket off of the crossbar that could have won it for New Hampshire in the first overtime.

Of course men's soccer wasn't the only thing on tap for what was a huge weekend in the America East. Along with the dramatic championship game, the volleyball tournament field was set and basketball season began with 13 men's and women's games on Friday night and plenty more action throughout the weekend. As the fall season is ending, the winter season is just beginning. Never a dull moment here at the America East. Get caught up on everything with today's AEC Rewind.

Box Scores, Recaps, and Highlights

Men's Soccer

We told you some of the story up above, but this was some game. Just three minutes into the game, the America East Striker of the Year, Pete Caringi III, went down with what looked like an ankle injury. Unfortunately we did not see him again the rest of the night, as UMBC was forced to find different ways to attack a New Hampshire defense that, including the championship game, hasn't given up a goal in its last 400 minutes of soccer.

While the Wildcat defense was doing its thing, the offense stepped up and gave the home team several scares in the second half, getting seven shots off. In the end, though, it was Phil Saunders who saved the day in Baltimore. A point blank stop in the second overtime and two saves in penalty kicks, Saunders would go on to be named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Box/Recap/Highlights

Volleyball

UMBC 3, at Stony Brook 1
Providence 0, at Albany 3
Hartford 0, at New Hampshire 3
Binghamton 3, at Stony Brook 2
Albany 3, at New Hampshire 2
Hartford 3, at Providence 2

Albany has once again clinched the top seed and the right to host the America East volleyball championship. The Great Danes 3-0 victory over Providence on Friday night gave them the league title, which is their fifth-straight and eight in the last nine years. Also joining the party will be Binghamton as the No. 2 seed, UMBC as the No. 3 and New Hampshire rounding out the four-team tournament. The Bearcats earned their spot in the playoffs at the expense of Stony Brook on Sunday, knocking the Seawolves out of playoff contention with a thrilling five set match. New Hampshire's could have been the No. 2 seed, but fell to No. 4 with its loss to Albany. Visit the recap on our website for box scores and other info.

With the championship coming up this weekend in Albany, fans can look forward to some really excellent matches as the four teams fight for a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Championship Preview/Bracket/Championship Central

Men's Basketball

Carissimo had a big bucket in Vermont's
win over Siena.

Friday, Nov. 9

• Duquesne 66, at Albany 69: Box/Recap
• UMBC 75, at Penn 80: Box/Recap
• Boston U. 64, at Northeastern 65: Box/Recap/Highlights
• Vermont 54, at Siena 53: Box/Recap/Highlights
• Binghamton 45, at Loyola 71: Box/Recap/Highlights
• Stony Brook 60, at Marist 57: Box/Recap

Saturday, Nov. 10

• Suffolk 51, at New Hampshire 91: Box/Recap/Highlights
• Quinnipiac 65, at Hartford 61: Box/Recap/Highlights
• Maine 54, at Dartmouth 67: Box/Recap
• Albany 60, at No. 4 Ohio St. 82: Box/Recap/Highlights

Sunday, Nov. 11

• Brown 58, at Binghamton 49: Box/Recap/Highlights
• Mount Ida 57, at Stony Brook 93: Box/Recap

An eventful opening weekend for sure, with three of the top four teams according to the preseason poll earning close victories, and Boston U. losing a heartbreaker on a last-second three-point shot against Northeastern. Hartford suffered a narrow setback in the Connecticut Six Classic and Albany paid a visit to a national powerhouse in Ohio St. 

Women's Basketball

Daphne Elliot had 14 points for Hartford versus Loyola.

Friday, Nov. 9

• Maine 41, vs. Auburn 71: Box/Recap
• UMBC 61, at Morgan St. 72: Box/Recap
• Vermont 45, at Marist 66: Box/Recap/Highlights
• Loyola 50, at Hartford 64: Box/Recap/Highlights
• Boston College 46, at Boston U. 52: Box/Recap/Highlights
• Rider 62, at Stony Brook 50: Box/Recap
• Fordham 60, at Albany 43: Box/Recap

Saturday, Nov. 10

• Binghamton 34, at St. Bonaventure 61: Box/Recap
• Maine 76, vs. Wofford 79: Box/Recap

Sunday, Nov. 11

• Columbia 40, at Vermont 46: Box/Recap/Highlights
• Monmouth 68, at UMBC 71: Box/Recap/Highlights
• Navy 40, at Stony Brook 44: Box/Recap

There were some very challenging games right off the bat for the women this weekend, including Maine's tangle with an SEC tested Auburn squad. Vermont took on Marist, a program with a recent history of success in the NCAA tournament, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2007. The women finished the weekend strong however, as Vermont, UMBC and Stony Brook combined to go 3-0 on Sunday.

Linked Up

The Binghamton Bearcats Hooptalk radio show returns for its seventh season.

Staying in Binghamton, new head coach Tommy Dempsey is changing the culture in Bearcat country.

With 4:46 left in the first half of Albany's game versus Ohio St., the Great Danes had put a scare into the 13,000 Buckeye faithful on hand.

Congratulations to two America East cross country runners, Boston U.'s Rich Peters and New Hampshire's Keely Mcguire, on qualifying for nationals. Both earned one of four individual bids given out in the Northeast region.

Stony Brook AD Jim Fiore made his case for the Seawolves to get an at-large bid for the FCS football tournament.

What's Next?

Women's Basketball

West Virginia at Boston U., 7 p.m.

Men's Basketball

Boston U. at Canisius, 7 p.m.
Eastern at UMBC, 7 p.m.

In addition to these games, set the alarm clock a bit early tomorrow morning and catch Stony Brook play Rider in the fourth game of ESPN's Tip-Off Marthon. The Seawolves will lace it up for a 6 a.m. tip-off, in what is the first Eastern Time Zone game of the marathon. That game will be televised nationally on ESPN.