ALBANY, N.Y. - Sophomore attack Emily Coady (Westminster, Md./Westminster) scored four times and senior goalie Kate Quick (Phoenix, Md./Maryvale Prep) made eight saves as the fourth-seeded UMBC women's lacrosse team (11-6) overcame a 5-1 deficit to knock off top-seeded and regular-season champion Albany (13-3) by a score of 11-9 Thursday afternoon in the semifinals of the America East Championship.
It is UMBC's first-ever win in an America East Championship game and the team's first postseason victory since winning the Northeast Conference title in 2003. The Retrievers are making their first appearance in the four-team league tournament since 2006.
Albany got off to a hot start, scoring the first four goals of the game over the first 15:30 of action before junior midfielder Ashley Stodter (Silver Spring, Md./Good Counsel) put the Retrievers on the board with 11:51 remaining in the first half. The Great Danes took a 5-1 lead two minutes later, but reigning America East Rookie of the Week Lindsay Cox (High Bridge, N.J./Voorhees) found Coady with 19 seconds left in the period to make it 5-2 at halftime.
The momentum carried into the second stanza, as the Retrievers scored three straight and seven of eight to open the period. Stodter and sophomore attack Alicia Krause (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron/Duquesne) tallied back-to-back goals 53 seconds apart; Krause's goal followed an interception, and she drove the length of the field for her 24th goal of the season. Junior midfielder Amanda Pappas (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) then tied the game at 5-5 with a free- position goal at the 19:02 mark.
Albany briefly regained the lead on an unassisted goal by Melanie Sosnowski just over a minute later, but Pappas again knotted the score with 14:42 remaining, and Coady gave UMBC its first lead of the game with back-to-back goals.
Midfielder Olivia Jarem and attack Christine Grueniger tallied consecutive free-position goals less than a minute apart to pull the Great Danes to within one with four minutes to go, but Cox and Coady each found the back of the net to give the Retrievers a three-goal lead with 2:20 remaining.
UMBC outscored Albany, 9-4, in the second half and committed just three turnovers in the period, and Quick made six of her eight saves in the second stanza. Albany keeper Ashley Ross made 13 saves, including nine in the first period.
Coady led all scorers with four goals, while Stodter and Pappas each tallied twice. Grueniger and Jarem both notched hat tricks to lead the Great Danes, while attack Taylor Frink tallied three assists.
UMBC outshot Albany, 30- 27, and held a 22-12 advantage on ground balls. The Great Danes won the draw control battle, 14-8.
The Retrievers will face the second-seeded and five-time defending conference champion Boston University on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the America East title game. The Terriers defeated No. 3 New Hampshire, 10-6, in Thursday's second semifinal contest. The contest will be streamed for free at AmericaEast.tv.
NOTE: The victory was the 11th of the season for UMBC, its most since winning 12 games in 2002.
