GAME 14: Stony Brook (7-6, 3-3 AE) vs. No. 6 Albany (12-2, 6-0 AE)
LOCATION	John Fallon Field | Albany, N.Y.
DATE  | TIME	Thursday, May 4  |  7:00 p.m.
COVERAGE	Live Stats  |  ESPN3 | Championship Central
SOCIAL	@StonyBrookMLax | #WeAreSeawolves

STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- The Stony Brook men's lacrosse team is set for its 16th straight appearance in the America East Championships. The Seawolves earned the four seed in this year's post season and will take on top-seeded Albany in the second semifinal game of the day Thursday evening. Stony Brook will look to avenge the regular season outcome as it contends for its first conference championship since the 2012 season. The Seawolves dropped their final game of the regular season, falling to Binghamton in overtime, while Albany topped Hartford at home over the weekend. 

Seawolves Notes

• The Seawolves are participating in their 16th consecutive America East Championships, qualifying for the post season play in every season they have been a member of the conference. They have claimed three titles in that time.
• Stony Brook ranks 18^th in the country averaging 6.93 assists per game as well as 21st in points (17.77) and 24^th in scoring (11.08).
• Seniors Ryan Bitzer and Alex Corpolongo have recently joined the top 10 all-time at Stony Brook in career assist and goals, respectively.
• The two seniors have each tallied over 100 career points, making Stony Brook one of 17 institutions with two-or-more players over the century mark.
• This is the 34^th all-time meeting between the Seawolves and Great Danes and the 13^th in the America East Championships.  
• Alex Corpolongo leads the team with 33 goals on the year, extending the second longest scoring streak in the country to 31 games after scoring a goal against Binghamton.
• Ryan Bitzer had a pair of assists against Binghamton to up his season total to 49 and make it 34 straight games with a point.
• Newcomer Connor Grippe was named America East Rookie of the Week (4/24) after putting away the game-winner in overtime at UMass Lowell. His classmates Tom Haun and Michael Bollinger earned Rookie and Defensive Player of the Week (4/17) honors, respectively, for their play at Vermont.
• Tom Haun has notched seven multi-goal games in his debut season after scoring two goals at Vermont.
• Corpolongo, Bitzer and Haun all rank in the top 25 nationally in an offensive category as Corpolongo is tied for 17th in goals per game (2.54), Bitzer is eighth in assists per game (2.38) and Haun ranks 12th shooting percentage (.458).
• Newcomers have been big contributors on the attack this season, they are responsible for 65 of the team's 144 goals.
• Michael Bollinger has notched his three double-digit save games through six starts. Most recently he tallied 12 stops, boasting a .571 save percentage at Vermont.
• The win over Fairfield marked the 200th win of Stony Brook head coach Jim Nagle's career.
• The Seawolves started the season 4-0, marking the best start in program history, ranking as high at 14^th in the nation before dropping a game.

 
Scouting Albany
   The Great Danes enter the America East Championships with a 12-2 record on the year and finished league play at 6-0. After falling to then-No. 6 Syracuse on the road to start the season, Albany has dropped just one other game. The Great Danes bounced back from a 12-11 lost to then-No. 3 Maryland by winning their final three games of the season, most recently topping Hartford at home, 16-10.
   Albany leads the America East and the nation in scoring, assists and points, while also ranking top-five in ground balls and face-off percentage. Connor Fields paces the attack with 3.29 goals and assists per game, as well as 6.57 points per game, leading the conference and ranking second or higher in the nation in all three categories. TD Irelan is also among the best in the country with 11.07 ground balls per game and a .706 winning percentage on face-offs.
 
Series Info
   Albany leads the all-time series, 20-13, claiming each of the last eight meetings. The Great Danes topped Stony Brook in the regular season meeting earlier this year, 19-11. The Seawolves kept things close in the early going, but eight straight goals for Albany in the second quarter created a distance they couldn't overcome. Freshman Cory VanGinhoven led the way with three goals in the game, while Michael Bollinger tallied a season-best 14 saves in his second start of the year.
   The two teams have met 12 times in the America East Championships. Stony Brook has topped the Great Danes one time through six meetings in the semifinals, while they have each claimed three championships when going head-to-head. The last post season meeting took place in 2015 when Albany topped the Seawolves 22-9 in the championship game.
 
Last Time Out
   The Seawolves stumbled in the final game of the regular season, falling to Binghamton in overtime, 6-5. This marked the first time since the 2007 season they have played in a game in which both teams scored six-or-fewer goals. The Bearcats controlled the momentum early, going back-to-back in the opening minutes, but Stony Brook was able to tie the game at three with a pair of goals in the final 2:21 of the first quarter. Neither team could find the back of the cage in the second quarter, but sophomore Ryland Rees sparked the Seawolves with a goal in the first 26 seconds of the new half for their first lead of the day. Stony Brook went up 5-4 midway through the fourth quarter and both defenses held strong for much of the period, but the Bearcats were able to force overtime with a goal in the final 1:30 of regulation. Joe Licata fired in the game-winner with 2:51 remaining in overtime to decide the game.