Women's Lacrosse Seeded Fourth for 2008 America East Conference Championship

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Albany, N.Y – UAlbany has received the fourth seed for this week’s America East Conference Women’s Lacrosse Championship. Despite losing its regular-season finale to Stony Brook, the Great Danes made the tournament field through a tie-breaker formula. The championship will be held at Boston University’s Nickerson Field.

UAlbany (8-8) tangles with No. 1 seed Boston U. (13-2) in the semifinal round on Friday, April 25 at 1:00 p.m. The Terriers, who have been ranked in the IWLCA and Inside Lacrosse top-20 national polls for most of the season, captured the conference’s regular-season crown with a perfect 6-0 mark. Vermont (8-8) and New Hampshire (11-4) will meet in the second semifinal at 4:00 p.m.

Boston U. has captured three consecutive America East tournament championships. Sarah Dalton, a third-team All-America midfielder last year, leads an offense that is ranked sixth nationally at 14.47 goals per game. Dalton is the team’s top scorer with 49 goals and six assists. Lauren Morton, an all-region standout, contributes 43 goals and six assists. Molly Collins, who has 25 goals and 17 assists, was the most outstanding player at the 2007 conference tournament.

The Great Danes are making their fifth America East postseason appearance since joining the league in 2002. UAlbany reached last year’s championship final after upending top-seed Stony Brook in the semifinal round. Kayla Best is one of the conference’s leading scorers with 44 goals and seven assists. Her goal total ranks sixth on the program’s single-season chart. Freshman Jodi Battaglia (21 goals, 3 assists) and sophomore Christine Grueniger (18 goals, 6 assists) each have 24 points. Goalkeeper Katie Neer, who has made 136 saves in her first season as a starter, has a 12.02 goals against average.

Tickets for the tournament will be available at the gate throughout the weekend. All-session passes for adults are $15, while all-session tickets for youth (14-under) and America East students with a valid ID are sold for $4. Individual tickets are $8 for adults and $2 for youth (14-under) and America East students.

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2008 America East Conference Women’s Lacrosse Championship

(played at Boston University’s Nickerson Field)

Friday, April 25

Semifinal Round

No. 1 Boston University (13-2, AE 6-0) vs. No. 4 UAlbany (8-8, AE 2-4), 1:00 p.m.

No. 2 Vermont (8-8, AE 5-1) vs. No.3 New Hampshire (11-4, AE 4-2), 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, April 27

Championship, 1:00 p.m.