Women's Lacrosse Falls to No. 7/6 Stony Brook, Earns Two Seed for Upcoming America East Tournament
AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | BOX SCORE
ALBANY, N.Y. – University at Albany women's lacrosse (10-5, 5-1 AE) suffered a 13-4 setback to No. 7/6 Stony Brook (14-3, 6-0 AE) on Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale. The Great Danes will venture to Long Island for the conference tournament next weekend, facing No. 3 seed UMBC (9-7, 3-3 AE) on Friday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m., in the semifinals.
Stony Brook registered seven of the first eight goals, but UAlbany had opportunities early. Sarah Martin forced a Seawolves turnover near midfield after Stony Brook took a 1-0 lead. The junior hit Dakotah Savitcheff in the slot, but her attempt was saved. Joe Spallina's squad sprinted downfield to increase its lead to two, 2-0 less than four minutes in.
Rachel Bowles responded to make the margin one, as Jimerson found the graduate student streaking down the middle. Stony Brook cashed in on two free position attempts to widen the gap to three, 4-1. The Seawolves would score three more times before the Danes broke their scoreless streak with seven minutes to go in the first half. In the midst of Stony Brook's five-goal unanswered run, the Purple & Gold committed three unforced turnovers.
Dakotah Savitcheff added a free position goal to make the score 7-2. The Seawolves entered the break with a 9-2 advantage on the scoreboard, and a 13-4 edge in shots.
The Great Danes looked to change their fortunes to open the second half, but Stony Brook won the first two draws and converted offensively for two goals to earn an 11-2 lead.
Just two minutes into the second half, UAlbany found itself in a nine-goal hole. John Battaglino's squad began to turn up the defensive pressure in hopes of extra possessions, but the teams traded turnovers as the pace of the game slowed down. Neither team scored for nearly 20 minutes.
The Seawolves brought the contest to running clock, taking a 13-2 lead with 4:30 remaining. The Great Danes fired two goals back to bring the game back to single digits, 13-4.
Battaglino & co., recorded just 10 shots on the day, and committed 12 turnovers. Stony Brook registered 23 of its 19 shots on goal for 13 tallies.
With the loss, UAlbany sealed the No. 2 seed in the America East Tournament set to begin on Friday, May 6. The Great Danes face No. 3 seed UMBC (9-7, 3-3 AE) in the semifinals at LaValle Stadium in Stony Brook, N.Y., on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The winner of the 7:30 p.m., semifinal faces either No. 1 seed Stony Brook or No. 4 seed New Hampshire.
2016 AMERICA EAST WOMEN'S LACROSSE TOURNAMENT
SEMI FINALS
Friday, March 6 – LaValle Stadium, Stony Brook, N.Y.
No. 1 seed Stony Brook vs. No. 4 seed UNH – 5:00 p.m.
No. 2 seed UAlbany vs. No. 3 seed UMBC – 7:30 p.m.
FINAL
Sunday, March 8 – LaValle Stadium, Stony Brook, N.Y. – ESPN3
Winner semifinal 1 vs. Winner semifinal 2 - Noon
