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ALBANY, N.Y.- Paula Heuser set a new America East conference single-game scoring record with five goals and two assists for 12 points on Sunday afternoon in a 9-3 win over UMass Lowell (5-13, 0-7 AE). The junior helped No. 8 University at Albany field hockey (16-2, 6-1 AE) to the No. 1 seed for the upcoming America East tournament set to begin on Thursday. The Danes open postseason play against UC Davis (8-11, 1-5 AE) on Thursday at 2:00pm from Alumni Turf.

“I'm proud of our performance today, because it shows we're ready for a new tournament format,” said head coach Phil Sykes. “There are a lot of possibilities, and those west coast schools have added a lot to our conference. This will be a great tournament, and it will be exciting to have it played on our home turf.”

With goal differential a crucial factor in tournament seeding, UAlbany came out ready to score. Liza Morgan followed up on a rebounded shot from Heuser to make the score 1-0 Danes in the third minute. Two minutes later, Fiori Van Rijswijk found Heuser in the circle for her first goal of the game. The defending NFHCA National Player of the Year spun past one defender to fire top shelf and give UAlbany a 2-0 lead.

The Purple & Gold recorded its first penalty corner with 10 minutes gone in the first half. The first attempt on goal resulted in a shot gone wide, but an insert by Van Rijswijk shortly after did not come up empty-handed. Anna Bottino and Heuser executed in the circle for a 3-0 Danes lead early on.

UMass Lowell found its feet in the circle to end the half, as the River Hawks got one back with five minutes to go before halftime. Kelsey Federico made seven saves in the cage for UMass Lowell in the opening 35 minutes.

Heuser continued to dominate the midfield in the second half, as Jaclyn Hibbs hit the junior downfield in the 40th minute. With a 4-on-3 break, Heuser easily found Bottino in the circle for a 4-1 UAlbany advantage.

After the River Hawks eliminated the three-goal cushion, Heuser took over to score two more goals in less than two minutes. Both off of penalty corners, Heuser put UAlbany back in four-goal differential territory mid-way through the second half with a 6-2 lead.

The Purple & Gold's final three goals would come on set penalty corner pieces. Heuser, Bottino and Frederike Helmke put the game away, going 3-for-5 on penalty corners down the stretch.

Heuser had five goals and two assists for 12 points to set new America East conference game records in both goals and points. Her points total broke a nearly 20 year-old mark set by Northeastern's Jen White in 1997. The junior has 62 points and 26 career goals this season. She is four goals and eight points shy of breaking her own single-season records in each category. Just a junior, she has 176 career points and 72 career goals. She is the NCAA active career leader in both.

In net, Maxi Primus collected her 50th career victory.

Maxing out the conference's goal differential margin, UAlbany took the No. 1 seed for the America East tournament over Maine. The Danes sealed their second consecutive regular season title and No. 1 seed.

The No. 8 Danes (16-2, 6-1 AE) will kick off America East tournament action on Thursday with a 2:00pm game against UC Davis (8-11, 1-5 AE).