No. 19 Women’s Lacrosse Travels to Stony Brook in the Hunt for Third America East Championship
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | GAME NOTES | Friday, May 2, 7:30 p.m.| LaValle Stadium, Stony Brook, N.Y. | UAlbany leads the series 14-1 |
ALBANY, N.Y. – No. 19 University at Albany women’s lacrosse (13-2, 4-1 AE) takes its No. 2 seed into the America East Semifinals on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., against No. 3 seeded Vermont (12-5, 3-2 AE). The winner is slated to face the victor of the Stony Brook-New Hampshire match-up in the final on Sunday at noon. The championship game will be available live on ESPN3.
UAlbany will be playing away from home for the third straight weekend. Most recently, the Great Danes took down New Hampshire in a commanding 19-5 victory on Saturday. The win earned the Purple & Gold the No. 2 seed and a share of the America East regular season title.
In the 19-5 victory, Katherine Sweeney scored a single-game career high five goals, and Maureen Keggins poured in a career high four goals. Senior Ariana Parker matched a career high in points with seven, including three goals and four assists. Sophomore Rachel Bowles also scored three second-half goals.
SERIES HISTORY
UAlbany owns the 14-1 advantage in the series over the Catamounts. In their most recent meeting, the Great Danes took a 15-7 win in Burlington on April 5. Parker scored a game-high five goals, while Kathleen Lennon won a season-high nine draw controls.
This is the first all-time meeting for the Great Danes and the Catamounts in the America East tournament. Vermont has never won an America East tournament game, and is 0-6 all-time. The Purple & Gold is 6-8 (.429).
Vermont’s lone win against UAlbany came in 2008, by a score of 11-10 in Burlington.
MATCH-UP AT A GLANCE
When the teams met on April 5, Vermont took 10 free position shots and made just two. The draw control battle was even at 12 apiece, and UAlbany went a perfect 16-for-16 on clears.
The Great Danes and Catamounts are neck-and-neck in nearly every league-only offensive category:
|
Category |
UAlbany |
Vermont |
|
Goals Per Game |
14.40 (1st) |
11.60 (T-2nd) |
|
Assists Per Game |
5.00 (3rd) |
4.00 (4th) |
|
Draw Controls |
12.60 (2nd) |
13.00 (1st) |
|
Shot Percentage |
.486 (2nd) |
.483 (3rd) |
SPREADING THE LOVE
John Battaglino’s squad has taken advantage of a balanced scoring attack this season, relying on a number of players to score. Seven different Great Danes have scored 20 goals or more this season, more 20-goal scorers than any team in the league. Rachel Bowles leads the team with 43 goals, followed by Ariana Parker with 36 and Allie Phelan with 33.
Junior Maureen Keggins has scored two goals or more in four of her last five games, including a four-goal performance last game at UNH. Reigning America East Rookie of the Week Sarah Martin has recorded one point in every conference game this season, and has scored multiple goals in each of her last two league starts at UMBC and UNH.
HUNDRED CLUB
Sophomore attack Rachel Bowles tallied her 100th career point in the win against the Retrievers last Saturday, and has now recorded 106 for her career. The all-time career record in points is192, set by Kate Fontana. Bowles is also ranked fourth all-time in single-season points with 66 in 2014 thus far.
Senior defender Kathleen Lennon became the second Great Dane to tally 200 career draw victories or more in an 18-4 win against Columbia last Wednesday. She has now won 206 in her career to rank second all-time.
PARKER-BOWLES ROYALTY
Senior midfielder Ariana Parker and Rachel Bowles have each tallied multiple-goal performances in four of the last five games. The pair has yet to go a game without recording a point this season. Bowles and Parker have also combined for 13 games with five points or more. With a start on Friday, Parker will become UAlbany’s allt-time leader in career starts.
SCOUTING VERMONT
Like UAlbany, Vermont is on a two-game winning streak in league play. The Catamounts will hit the road for the first time since April 16 to face the Great Danes at LaValle Stadium. Vermont toppled Stony Brook 8-7 in overtime to hand the Seawolves their first loss in 12 games and earn the No. 3 seed.
The NCAA active career leader in goals Sydney Mas leads Vermont on offense. She has 217 goals to her credit for her career and 59 this season. Junior Jessica Roach leads the league in conference-only goals, with 3.60 per game.
UALBANY AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
Points ……………………………………………………………………….. 18th (307)
Rachel Bowles – Points……………………………………… 10th (4.40 ppg)
Rachel Bowles – Assists…………………………………… 30th (1.53 apg)
Scoring Offense………………………………………………………….. 4th (15.07 gpg)
Scoring Defense………………………………………………………….. 4th (6.73 gpg)
Anna Berman – GAA…………………………………………. 4th (6.64 gapg)
Anna Berman – Save %…………………………………….. 21st (.467)
Scoring Margin…………………………………………………………….. 2nd (8.33)
Kathleen Lennon – Draw Controls………………………………….. 13th (5.00 per game)
RPI ……………………………………………………………………….. 18th
2014 HONORS
Tewaaraton Watch List
Allie Phelan, Sr., M
Inside Lacrosse Rookie of the Year Watch List
Dakotah Savitcheff, Fr., A
Inside Lacrosse All-America Midseason Watch List
Kathleen Lennon, Sr., D (Third Team)
America East Offensive Player of the Week
Ariana Parker, Sr., M (April 28)
Allie Phelan, Sr., M (April 7)
Rachel Bowles, R-So., A (March 10)
Rachel Bowles, R-So., A (March 3)
Rachel Bowles, R-So., A (Feb. 24)
America East Defensive Player of the Week
Anna Berman, Sr., GK (March 24)
Kathleen Lennon, Sr., D (March 17)
America East Rookie of the Week
Sarah Martin, Fr., A (April 28)
Dakotah Savitcheff, Fr., A (March 31)
Dakotah Savitcheff, Fr., A (March 3)
