BOSTON - One team will be making its record 10th America East women's soccer championship game appearance and the other its first when top-seeded Boston University and third-seeded Albany face off on Saturday at Nickerson Field at 1 p.m. The Terriers are seeking their fifth straight league title and ninth overall while the Great Danes are looking for their first conference crown.
Tickets are $8 at the gate for adults, $5 for children (14 and under) and $2 for America East students with valid ID. For those who can't be in attendance, FREE video streaming, produced by Pack Network, will be available at AmericaEast.com and to iphone, ipad and ipod touch users (Mobile Stream). Brian Maurer (play-by-play) and Rick Zmudien (analyst) will have the call.
Championship Primer
• Boston U. and Albany are meeting for just the second time in America East Championship play and will decide the league champion for the first time. In their only other championship meeting, which came last season, the Terriers knocked off the Great Danes, 2-0, to advance to the title game. All-conference standouts Jessica Luscinski and Kylie Strom scored for Boston U.
• Both teams are red hot coming into the game. Boston U., the 13th-ranked team in the nation, has won 12 straight games and set a program record with 17 wins this season. Albany, which has won more games (27) in the last three seasons than in its first seven years in America East combined (26), is unbeaten in its last eight games (7-0-1) and outscored opponents 13-4 in that stretch.
• The Terriers won the regular-season meeting between the two teams, 2-0, on Sept. 25 behind goals from Kyle Strom (20') and Taylor Krebs (35') and four saves from Kelly King in the win. Boston U. improved to 12-0-0 all-time against Albany.
• Boston U. is 16-4-2 all time in the America East Championship with eight titles. The 16 wins and .773 tournament win percentage are both tops in league history while their eight crowns ranks second in league only to Hartford’s 10.
• The Great Danes, who are making their first-ever America East Championship game appearance, are 3-2-0 all-time in tournament play, with all three wins coming in the last two seasons.
• This game features two of the top offenses in America East and several of the league’s top scorers. Boston U. averages a league-best 2.45 goals per game, which also ranks 19th nationally, while the Great Danes are third amongst conference teams scoring 1.32 goals per game. The Terriers’ Jessica Luscinski (23 pts - 1.44 ppg) leads the league in points per game, while her teammates Brittany Heist (17 pts- 0.85) and Kylie Strom (17 pts- 0.85) are tied for seventh and Tiya Gallegos (15 pts -0.75 ppg) is ninth. Albany’s Rebecca Lee (10 pts - 0.67 ppg) is 10th.
• Boston U. is making its fifth straight America East Championship game appearance and seeking its ninth league title since 2000. The Terriers have never lost as the No. 1 seed in the America East Championship (15-0-1) with six titles. The Terriers have also never lost as regular-season champion (13-0-1) with eight championships and are 15-1-2 all-time at Nickerson Field in tournament play.
• The Terriers are unbeaten in 41 of their last 42 games against America East opponents dating back to 2007.
• Terrier head coach Nancy Feldman is the all-time America East leader with 16 championship victories and eight titles. Great Dane mentor Mary Frances Monroe is 3-2-0.
2011 America East Women's Soccer Championship
Quarterfinals - Thursday, October 27
No. 5 Binghamton 1, at No. 4 New Hampshire 0 -- Box Score
at No. 3 Albany 2, No. 6 Vermont 1 (2OT) -- Box Score
Semifinals
Sunday, October 30
at No. 1 Boston University 2, Binghamton 1 -- Box Score
Monday, October 31
Albany at 1, No. 2 Hartford 0 -- Box Score
Final - Saturday, November 5
Albany at Boston U., 1 p.m. -- Live Stats | Watch Live
