ALBANY, N.Y. – For the ninth-straight season, the University at Albany women's lacrosse team will face Stony Brook in the America East title game.
 
Game Info
Saturday, May 8 at #1 Stony Brook (1:00 p.m.)
Championship Central | Live Stats | ESPN3
 
Leading the Pack

• Saturday's title game will feature this year's America East Offensive Player of the Year, both Defensive Players of the Year, and Rookie of the Year
• Stony Brook is ranked #6 nationally in the IWLCA Coaches' Poll
• Stony Brook leads the America East in scoring offense and scoring defense
• UAlbany ranks second in scoring offense and scoring defense
• UAlbany leads the America East in goals, assists, and total points
• UAlbany is 1-7 against Stony Brook in America East championship games, and 2-7 in nine meetings in the America East Tournament

Scouting Stony Brook
Stony Brook is the sixth-ranked team in the NCAA in the IWLCA Coaches' Poll, and has been for each of the prior two meetings this season with UAlbany.  The Seawolves have won 11-straight games since losing at Syracuse on February 27, and went undefeated in the America East for the sixth-straight season.  Stony Brook is led by Tewaaraton nominee Ally Kennedy, who was named America East Midfielder of the Year for the third season.  Kennedy has scored 59 goals this season to go with six assists.  Stony Brook also boasts Taryn Ohlmiller, 2021's Offensive Player of the Year, who has scored 39 goals and recorded 39 assists.  Stony Brook leads the America East in scoring offense and scoring defense.  Stony Brook leads the series 21-7, and has won each of the last 16 meetings.
 
Last Time vs. Stony Brook
In their second of two meetings during the 2021 regular season, UAlbany jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Stony Brook on the Great Danes' Senior Day.  UAlbany held the Seawolves scoreless for the first 14:24 of the game before they scored their first goal.  From there, Stony Brook tied the game at three with 14:54 remaining in the first half, took their first lead with 14:28 remaining, and outscored UAlbany 10-2 by halftime.  Stony Brook went on to win 17-10 and claim their 16th-straight victory in the series.  In goal, Georgia Schneidereith recorded 13 saves, while Julia Imbo and Katie Pascale each scored two goals with one assist.
 
Last Time Out
Madison Conway scored three goals, including the 100th of her career, and recorded three assists to lead UAlbany's offense in a 17-8 victory in their semifinal game against three-seed Vermont.  The Great Danes scored just 50 seconds after the opening draw, igniting an 8-0 opening run to put the Catamounts away early.  Kyla Zapolski scored four goals, including two in the final two minutes of the game, securing a 17-8 victory and another trip to the America East title game.
 
Around the America East
Stony Brook and UAlbany advanced to the America East finals for the ninth-straight season, with UAlbany making its 10th-straight appearance in the title game.  The top-seeded Seawolves overcame a slow start to defeat four-seed UMBC 25-13, while second-seeded UAlbany opened up an 8-0 lead on three-seed Vermont before winning 17-8.
 
Familiar Foes
2021 will mark the ninth-straight season the America East championship game will be played between UAlbany and Stony Brook.  The Great Danes won the first of these meetings, with their second-straight championship in 2012, but Stony Brook has won each finals meeting since, a streak spanning seven title games.
 
10 for 10
The semifinal victory over Vermont landed UAlbany its 10th-straight appearance in the America East title game.  UAlbany has won two America East titles, claiming back-to-back victories in 2011 and 2012, but has fallen in the finals in each of the last seven seasons to Stony Brook.
 
100 III
With her first goal in UAlbany's America East semifinal against three-seed Vermont, graduate attack Madison Conway scored her 100th goal as a Great Dane.  The score put UAlbany up 7-0 on the Catamounts with 20:18 remaining in the first half.  Conway is the third Great Dane to hit the 100-career goal milestone this season, after Kendra Harbinger and Kyla Zapolski, who each did so in the Great Danes' game at Drexel.
 
Coach of the Year
Third-year head coach Katie Rowan Thomson was named 2021 America East Coach of the Year, the first such award in her career at UAlbany.  Rowan Thomson guided the Great Danes to a 10-6 overall record in 2021, including 7-2 in-conference, while securing the two-seed in this year's America East Tournament.  The team will make its 13th-straight postseason appearance, and earns its 11th top-two seed during that span.  2021 marked Rowan Thomson's first victory over a ranked opponent in her career as UAlbany head coach, with the Great Danes defeating #20 Hofstra at home by a score of 18-7.
 
Co-Defensive Player of the Year
Sophomore defender Clancy Rheude was named Co-Defensive Player of the Year as UAlbany's top performer on the draw in 2021.  Her efforts, combined with her teammates', greatly improved an area of the game in which the Great Danes have had their difficulties in recent seasons.  Rheude won a team-high 84 draws this season, second-best in the America East, while also leading the team in winning 34 ground balls, and ranked in a tie for second with 18 caused turnovers.  Rheude is UAlbany's first Defender of the Year since Christine Johnson in 2016.
 
Rookie of the Year
Freshman midfielder Katie Pascale was named Rookie of the Year.  Pascale led UAlbany with 60 total points and 26 assists in the regular season, and ranked second on the team with 34 goals.  She also won 45 draw controls, contributing to UAlbany's increase in effectiveness in that category.  During the season, she was named America East Rookie of the Week a league-high five times.  With Pascale, UAlbany has now won each of the last three Rookie of the Year Awards, following Kendra Harbinger in 2018 and Hailey Carroll in 2019.
 
All-Conference
The 2021 America East All-Conference awards saw UAlbany land three major awards, Coach of the Year Katie Rowan Thomson, Co-Defender of the Year Clancy Rheude, and Rookie of the Year Katie Pascale.  Including the major awards, the Great Danes pulled down a league-high 15 total accolades spread among nine players and head coach Rowan Thomson.  Rheude, Kyla Zapolski, and Madison Conway were All-Conference First Team selections.  Pascale was joined by Kendra Harbinger, Jordyn Marr, and Georgia Schneidereith on the All-Conference Second Team.  Rheude and Pascale were UAlbany's two representatives on the All-Rookie Team.  And finally, Marr, Kadi Futia, and Hailey Carroll earned spots on the All-Academic Team.
 
Rookie V
For the fifth time during the 2021 season, more than any other player in the conference, freshman midfielder Katie Pascale was named America East Rookie of the Week in the final iteration of the season's weekly awards.  Pascale scored three goals and recorded three assists in the Great Danes' regular-season finale victory at Binghamton.  Pascale finished the season leading the team in total points, 60, and assists, 26, while ranking second in goals, 34.
 
Breaking In
By the conclusion of the 2021 regular season, two new Great Danes secured spots in the program's all-time career top-10 rankings.  Goalkeeper Georgia Schneidereith now ranks tied for sixth with 272 career saves, and midfielder Kyla Zapolski ranks tied for ninth with 121 career goals.  Not far behind Zapolski is Kendra Harbinger, who has scored 111 career goals, and Madison Conway, whose next goal will mark the 100th of her career.
 
Two Seed
For the seventh-straight season, discounting the 2020 season that was cut short due to COVID-19, the UAlbany women's lacrosse team will be the two-seed in the America East Tournament.  The Great Danes rolled through their conference schedule with a 7-2 record, with their only two losses coming against top-seeded Stony Brook.  UAlbany outscored its opponents by an average of more than six goals per game, and scored 15 or more goals in six of nine conference games.
 
Alma Mater
For the third time in her career as head coach at UAlbany, and the first time with home-field advantage, head coach Katie Rowan Thomson will face off against her alma mater, Syracuse.  In two previous meetings, Syracuse has gone 2-0 against UAlbany.  Rowan Thomson played for the Orange from 2006-09, earning three All-America First Team honors.  She scored 396 points in her career, including 232 goals and 164 assists, and led the country in total scoring during the 2008 season.  As a player, she qualified for three NCAA Tournaments, and after joining the Orange coaching staff following her graduation, qualified for an additional four.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
For the second time in three weeks, UAlbany goalkeeper Georgia Schneidereith was named America East Defensive Player of the Week.  Against then third place UMBC, Schneidereith allowed just six goals and recorded seven saves for UAlbany's third-straight victory by double-digits.  During that three-game stretch, Schneidereith allowed just 12 goals and recorded 16 saves.
 
Trilogy
In their three games following their loss at #20 Drexel, UAlbany rolled off one of the most dominating stretches in the country.  They played three conference opponents, Vermont, Hartford, and UMBC, and held all three to single-digit scoring totals, while eclipsing 19 goals in each game themselves.  In total, UAlbany outscored their three opponents by a combined score of 62-18.
 
Players of the Week
A 1-1 week for UAlbany that included one of their most dominating victories of the season, a 20-5 rolling of Vermont, the Great Danes pulled in two of the three America East weekly awards.  Georgia Schneidereith was named Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in her career, and Katie Pascale earned her third-straight and fourth overall Rookie of the Week honor.  Schneidereith allowed just vie goals against the Catamounts, holding Vermont to its lowest scoring output of the season.  She also made seven saves earlier in the week at #20 Drexel in a reunion with two of her three quadruplet sisters.  Pascale scored five goals and recorded four assists for UAlbany against the Dragons and the Catamounts, including four against Vermont.
 
100 II
Recording a hat trick at #20 Drexel, senior midfielder Kyla Zapolski reached the 100-career goals milestone, joining teammate Kendra Harbinger who reached the same milestone against the Dragons.  Zapolski scored her 100th goal just one minute of game time after Harbinger did, off a setup from Julia Imbo, to put UAlbany up 5-2 mid-way through the first half.  Zapolski's 100th career goal was her 23rd of the season, and left her 20 goals away from tying Jodi Battaglia '11 from cracking the program's top-10.
 
100
With her lone goal at #20 Drexel, senior midfielder/attack Kendra Harbinger reached the 100-career goals milestone.  Harbinger's squad-mate on the midfield line, Kyla Zapolski, also scored her 100th career goal against the Dragons, doing so exactly one minute of game time after Harbinger.  Harbinger's 100th career goal was her 16th of the season, and left her 20 goals shy of tying Jodi Battaglia '11 from breaking into the program's all-time top-10.
 
Reunion
On March 25, 2021, for the second time her career, and the first time as a regular player, Georgia Schneidereith had the opportunity to play against two of her three sisters when UAlbany visited #20 Drexel.  Jamie and Lucy play midfield for the Dragons, and Georgia did not play in their first meeting when they were freshmen.  Drexel came away with the victory, with Georgia recording seven saves in goal, Lucy scoring three goals with one assist, and Jamie scoring once.  UAlbany has not played Johns Hopkins, where the fourth Schneidereith quadruplet, Maggie, plays attack, in Georgia's career.
 
Rookie of the Week III
After leading UAlbany's offense against #6 Stony Brook, freshman midfielder Katie Pascale once again was named America East Rookie of the Week, pulling down her third total and second-straight such honor.  Against the Seawolves, Pascale scored two goals and recorded three assists.  Following the game, Pascale led UAlbany outright in goals and points, and shared the team lead in assists.
 
Rookie of the Week II
For the second time in three weeks, freshman midfielder Katie Pascale was named America East Rookie of the Week.  This time, she scored a total of six goals with two assists in victories over #20 Hofstra and Binghamton, including a career-high four goals against the Bearcats.  Additionally, Pascale won eight draws against the two Great Danes' opponents that week.
 
Ranked Victory
In her third season, UAlbany head coach Katie Rowan Thomson recorded her first victory over a ranked opponent when her Great Danes dominated #20 Hofstra 18-7 at John Fallon Field on March 9, 2021.  In her first three seasons, Rowan Thomson had her team played against nine ranked opponents, including top-ranked Boston College in 2019, as well as multiple games against Rowan Thomson's alma mater Syracuse and conference rival Stony Brook. 
 
Down to the Wire, Again
Despite a 13-1 edge in the series, three of the last five games UAlbany has played against New Hampshire have been won by the Great Danes by just one goal.  In their 2019 regular season meeting, the first of the Rowan Thomson era, the Wildcats stormed back to take the lead after trailing 6-1 at halftime, only for the Great Danes to tie the game at 11 with 52 seconds left.  The Great Danes' play call following a late timeout fizzled, before junior midfielder and eventual program career assists leader to collect the ball, compose the offense, and find a diving Madison Conway for the game-winner with 14 seconds remaining.  The teams met again in the semifinal round of the America East Tournament, with UAlbany winning more comfortably, 20-16.  After missing their annual matchup in 2020 after the COVID-19 shutdown ended the season, the teams met again in 2021, and the game followed a similar script to the first meeting of 2019.  UAlbany built a 7-2 lead in the first half before New Hampshire came back and tied the game at 12 to force overtime.  Freshman Bryar Hogg scored the game-winner, diving towards the cage and falling but still finding the back of the net off a setup from fellow freshman Katie Pascale.
 
Rookie of the Week
Following team victories over St. Bonaventure and Colgate, UAlbany freshman midfielder was recognized for her efforts in those games by winning her first America East Rookie of the Week award.  Pascale scored a total of five goals to go with one assist against the Bonnies and the Raiders, including the first goal of her career, with 18:15 remaining in the first half against St. Bonaventure.
 
Picked Second
For the ninth-straight season, UAlbany was picked to finish second in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.  The Great Danes pulled in a total of 43 points and one first-place vote, falling six points behind Stony Brook, who was favored unanimously for the ninth-straight season.
 
Mainstays
The UAlbany women's lacrosse team has made nine-straight trips to the America East title game, winning the conference tournament in 2011 and 2012.  For each of the last eight, the Great Danes have met Stony Brook in the final.
 
Schedule Strength
Of the 16 games on UAlbany's 2021 schedule, the Great Danes will play four against team ranked in the national preseason top-20 poll.  Their opener will feature preseason #13 Boston College, and later in the season the Great Danes will welcome preseason #3 Syracuse to John Fallon Field.  Finally, UAlbany will play a home-and-home series with preseason #6 and America East rival Stony Brook.
 
One of Four
Fifth-year goalkeeper Georgia Schneidereith is a quadruplet, with sisters Jamie, Maggie, and Lucy.  All four Schneidereith sisters play Division I lacrosse.  Jamie and Lucy play at Drexel and Maggie plays at Johns Hopkins.  All four returned to their teams this season, and UAlbany will visit Drexel later in the year, marking the first time Georgia will play against her sisters during her college career.
 
Last Third
The 2020 Great Danes' roster featured a collection of 12 seniors with years of America East Tournament experience.  Eight of those seniors, including the program's career assists record-holder Sam Tortora, chose not to exercise their additional year of eligibility granted by the NCAA.  Returning are Jordyn Marr, Madison Conway, Georgia Schneidereith, and Mara Bureau.
 
Double Trouble
Senior Kendra Harbinger joined the women's soccer program for the 2019 season, returning to the sport she played in high school, while remaining a member of the women's lacrosse team.  Harbinger scored two goals and recorded three assists as a starting defender for the Great Danes in her inaugural season, helping the team earn a share of the regular-season title.  Due to the overlap with fall and spring sports in 2021, Harbinger will only play lacrosse this season.
 
2023 NCAA Quarterfinals
On October 14, 2020, the NCAA announced among its selections for over 450 championship sites for the 2023-26 seasons that the University at Albany was awarded hosting responsibilities for a quarterfinal bracket in the 2023 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament.  It will be the first time the Great Danes host a quarterfinal, having previously hosted three First Round games, in 2007, 2017, and 2018.
 
PLL Year Two
Following a successful inaugural season, the Premier Lacrosse League was scheduled to return to the University at Albany for another full weekend on its schedule in its second year, but those plans had to be abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The league transitioned to a two-week, single-site schedule in Utah, where seven former Great Danes on three teams took to the field, with one additional as an emergency goalkeeper.
 
Helping Abroad
In January 2020, then-juniors Abby Stack and Ava Katinas spent three weeks volunteering in a hospital in Thailand through the Friends for Asia program.  Working in Chiang Mai, the pair shadowed professionals in the plastic surgery, pediatrics, emergency, and rehabilitation departments.  Both plan to pursue careers as medical professionals.
 
Haudenosaunee International
The UAlbany coaching staff spent two stints with the Haudenosaunee national program in the summer and fall of 2019, first with the U-19 team and next with the senior national squad.  Head coach Katie Rowan Thomson and assistant coaches Taylor Frink and Leah Gallagher served as assistant coaches under Ronnie Davis, the former head coach of Monroe Community College, on the sidelines for Haudenosaunee in the U19 World Championships.  Haudenosaunee placed ninth overall, earning victories over Belgium, Israel, Mexico, and Hong Kong.  Later in the fall, Rowan Thomson and Gallagher once again found themselves on the Haudenosaunee sidelines, this time for the senior national team at the inaugural Pan-American Lacrosse World Qualifiers, presiding over a roster that included Frink on the attack.  Rowan Thomson and her assistants led Haudenosaunee to the gold medal, defeating Columbia, Jamaica, Mexico, and finally Puerto Rico in the championship game.  Frink played in all four games, scoring five goals with seven assists, finishing as the seventh-leading scorer in the tournament.  The World Women's Lacrosse Championships take place in July, 2021.
 
WPLL
For the second season, head coach Katie Rowan Thomson helmed the Pride of the Women's Professional Lacrosse League.  Joining Rowan Thomson on the sidelines was assistant coach Taylor Frink.  Rowan Thomson led the Pride to the WPLL semifinals against the Brave, bringing into the game the league's co-leading team in scoring.  The Pride and the Brave further combined to field three of the four players who shared the lead league in individual scoring.  The Brave defeated the Pride 15-10 to advance to the WPLL championship game against the Flight, ultimately claiming the league championship.
 
Next: The winner of Saturday's final will earn the America East's automatic qualifying bid to the 2021 NCAA Tournament.  The selection show will air Sunday, May 9 at 9:00 p.m. on ESPNU.