UAlbany MLAX Battles SUNY Rival Stony Brook for America East Title on Saturday, 10 a.m. at Bob Ford Field
UAlbany Game Notes | Buy Tickets | Watch Live on ESPNU/WatchESPN
ALBANY, N.Y. – The 1-seed UAlbany men's lacrosse team will face a familiar foe for a chance to three-peat, hosting 2-seed Stony Brook at Bob Ford Field for the America East title game on Saturday, May 2nd at 10 a.m.
Tickets for the game are available on the UAlbany athletics website and at the gate on the day of the game. Tickets are for $10 for adults, $5 for youth (13 and under) and $2 for students at America East institutions with a valid ID. Tickets are good for both semifinal games.
The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU. Michael Corey and Quint Kessenich will be on the call.
The winner of this game will earn an automatic berth into the upcoming NCAA Tournament, which begins next weekend.
Regular season champion UAlbany defeated 4-seed Hartford 15-6 to advance to the title game. The Great Danes have won seven-straight and stand at 14-2 overall and 6-0 in the league. Stony Brook won 16-13 over 3-seed Vermont for its title berth. The Seawolves have won their last three and come into Saturday at 13-4 overall and 5-1 in the America East.
It is the first time since 2009 that two ranked teams will meet in the AE title game. UAlbany is ranked at #7 in both the USILA coaches poll and Inside Lacrosse media poll while Stony Brook is #17 and #16 in those polls respectively.
Defeating Stony Brook 17-15 on March 14th, UAlbany leads the all-time DI series 16-10, taking the last five meetings over the last three years. This is the fourth-straight year the two will meet in the America East Tournament, with UAlbany winning in the 2013 and 2014 semis and Stony Brook taking the matchup in the 2012 title.
This game features a matchup of two of the top offenses in Division I, led by the top in UAlbany, averaging 17.13 goals per game, scoring double digit goals in 15 out of 16 games so far in 2015 and having seven 20+ goal games. America East Player of the Year Lyle Thompson earned his third-consecutive 100+ point season on Thursday, standing with 43 goals and 58 assists on the year to rank first in DI in points per game. America East Rookie of the Year Connor Fields and America East All-Conference Second Team member Seth Oakes serve on his flanks, tallying 52 and 47 goals respectively so far this season. America East All-Conference First Team Blaze Riorden anchors the defense with a league best 55.9% save percentage and 9.64 goals allowed per game. Fellow First Team member Mike Russell protects on close defense with 15 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers.
Stony Brook is in the America East title game for the first time since winning it in 2012. Quarterbacking the sixth-ranked scoring offense in DI at 14.18 goals a game, senior midfielder Mike Rooney leads DI with 107 total points off 50 goals and 67 assists. Junior Brody Eastwood is 3rd in DI in goals per game, totaling 61 on the year, adding 25 ground balls. The Seawolves allow 10.24 goals per game on defense. Sophomore Hayden Johnstone has a 7-3 record in goal, saving 43.1% of shots and allowing 11.26 goals a game. SSDM Jeff Reh has 47 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers.
