The #2 seeded University of Albany Great Danes scored four goals off penalty corner opportunities, including their first three tallies of the match as they rolled past the Maine Black Bears 8-1 in the America East Field Hockey Tournament semifinals at Wicked Blue Field in Lowell, Massachusetts on Friday afternoon.
#6 Maine, coming off an upset win on Thursday against #3 UNH, was bombarded from the start in this one. Albany got five corner chances in the first 15 minutes, scoring on three of them. Alison Smisdom got the first one at 1:48, before Floor de Ruiter got the eventual game winner at 4:47. Smisdom got her second of the match later in the period at 14:39, her 19th of the season for a 3-0 advantage which is the way it stayed until halftime. Charlotte Triggs picked up an easy putback rebound early in the third quarter extending it to 4-0, ending the day in the cage for Black Bears goalie Jayde Temby. Taylor Stanford scored her first of the season to get Maine on the board for the only time 10:26 into the third assisted by Tereza Holubcova. Smisdom finished off her huge afternoon by scoring three more times including once on a penalty stroke in the fourth quarter, and Mara Kuskes also knocked one into the net as the Great Danes advanced to the championship game on Sunday.
Temby and Mallory Drayer both allowed four goals in the loss for Maine, who ends their season with a record of 8-12. Temby made two saves over the first 35 minutes, and Drayer made three in the final 25 in relief. Lara Behn made five saves for Albany. Smisdom had five goals, with all five shots she got on goal going in. Kuskes had one goal and two assists, while de Ruiter (one goal, one assist) and Blanca Orsola (two assists) both had two points. The final shots on goal were 13-6, and 10-4 in corners both in favor of the winners. The Great Danes are now 13-5, and will face the #4 seed the University of California (11-7) in the America East Final on Sunday at 12 p.m. The Golden Bears have won seven in a row, including an upset win over top seed and host UMass-Lowell 3-2 in double overtime in the first semifinal on Friday.
Recap by Chris Lessner
