Vestal, N.Y. - Jodi Battaglia scored a career-high seven goals and Taylor Frink set a school record with eight assists in leading unbeaten UAlbany to a 14-7 America East Conference victory over Binghamton on Saturday, April 23 at Bearcats Sports Complex. The Great Danes, who are one of two undefeated Division I teams, are ranked in the top 10 in both national polls.
     In the opening half, Binghamton (3-12, AE 1-4) jumped out to 2-0 lead. Katherine Hunsberger connected from left of the crease off a pass from Lis Zuern with one minute and 18 seconds elapsed. Ali Castiglie later scored with a sidearm delivery when Allie Sabitus hooked up with her in a free-position situation.
     The Great Danes, who established a program record with their 14th win of the season, responded with seven unanswered, including four in a span of less than four minutes. Frink combined with Battaglia on three consecutive plays to give their team the lead. Rachael Burek then drove to the cage on re-start after Binghamton failed to clear the ball.
     Ariana Parker picked up a ground ball in the defensive end that led to Frink's unassisted goal, before the freshman midfielder scored herself on a free-position attempt. After Nikki Branchini won the following draw, Frink found a cutting Amanda Pollock for a 7-2 lead.  The Bearcats closed the gap with two goals in the final five minutes of the period. Castiglie dodged two defenders in the middle, before Zuern curled from left and sent a shot inside the near post.
     Still leading 9-6 in the final period, UAlbany (14-0, AE 5-0) scored four times in a 10-minute span. Parker tallied her third goal of the game when she drove and fired a shot inside the left post. Branchini collected a ground ball on the defensive end that led to a Battaglia's fifth goal. The Great Danes pushed out to a 13-7 advantage with a pair of goals 52 second apart. Frink came up with a loose ball following a failed clearing attempt to set up a long possession that was finished off by Battaglia. The senior attacker then scored herself by spinning around a defender in front of the cage.
     With UAlbany holding on to the ball in the stretch, Battaglia and Frink hooked up on a give-and-go play with 2:58 remaining to secure the team's second win on the current three-day road trip. In the process, Frink established the school's single-game record with her eighth assist, breaking a mark that had stood since 2002.
     Beth Moore and Castiglie each scored twice for the Bearcats, who were coming off a pair of one-goal losses in conference play. Frink added two goals to her scoring total to tie another program record for most points (10) in a game. The Great Danes, who are ranked No. 9 in the IWLCA poll and No. 7 by deBeer/Inside Lacrosse, will play UMBC for the America East regular-season crown and the conference tournament's top seed on Saturday, April 30.

Paw Prints:  UAlbany and top-ranked Maryland are the only unbeaten teams at the NCAA Division I level ... Taylor Frink set three school records against Binghamton ... the senior broke Andrea Esposito's single-game assists mark (8) and tied the UAlbany record for most points (10) in a game ... Frink also established the single-season scoring record with 64 points (29 goals, 35 assists) ... Debbie August (1996) and Rafaela Nikas (1998) each held the previous standard with 62 points ... Jodi Battaglia netted a career-best seven goals, eclipsing her previous best of six against Harvard in 2009 ... the Great Danes have won 12 consecutive America East Conference regular-season games ... UAlbany went 13-3 overall last year to register the previous mark for single-season victories.
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#9/7 UAlbany 14, Binghamton 7
   UAlbany - Scoring: Jodi Battaglia 7-0, Taylor Frink 2-8, Ariana Parker 3-0, Rachael Burke 1-0, Amanda Pollock 1-0; Goalkeeper(s): Anna Berman (60:00, 2 saves, 7 GA).
   Binghamton - Scoring: Beth Moore 2-0, Ali Castiglie 2-0, Lis Zuern 1-1, Katherine Hunsberger 1-0, Lizzie Wright 1-0, Allie Sabitus 0-1: Goalkeeper(s); Lauren Scott (60:00, 5 saves, 14 GA).

#9/7 UAlbany 14, Binghamton 7 (Apr 23, 2011, Bearcats Sports Complex, Vestal, N.Y.)

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