May 5, 2005

Stony Brook, N.Y. - The Stony Brook men's lacrosse team will play for the America East title and a berth to the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse tournament when it faces two-time defending champ Albany on Saturday. The Seawolves (10-5) enter the game after a 12-6 win over No. 1 seed UMBC while Albany (9-5) advanced to the final with an 11-3 triumph over Binghamton. The game will be carried live on WUSB 90.1 FM.

For All The Marbles: Stony Brook and Albany face-off for the America East title and an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament on Saturday. Albany is making its fourth straight appearance in the finals and looking for its third consecutive America East championship.

Versus Albany: Albany leads the all-time series 6-5. The game marks a rematch of the 2002 AE title game which saw the Seawolves earn an 8-6 win. Since then, the Great Danes has won the last four matchups between the two teams.

On The Road: Stony Brook is 6-2 away from home this season. The Seawolves last win at Albany was on May 4, 2002 - an 8-6 win in the America East championship game. The Seawolves dropped a 16-7 decision to the Great Danes last season in Albany.

Earlier This Year:On April 2, Albany scored three unanswered goals in the fourth quarter to snap a 9-9 tie and earn a win at LaValle Stadium. Merrick Thomson scored four goals and added two assists to pace the Great Danes, but it was Frank Resetarits' goal with 12:44 to play that stood up as the game-winner. Chris Tracey had four goals for Stony Brook.

Tiffany Is A Jewel: On Tuesday, Lars Tiffany was named America East Coach of the Year, becoming the first SB coach to ever earn the award. Tiffany led his troops to two wins over nationally-ranked opponents and guided SB to its first-ever Top 20 ranking this season.

Tripodi Named Rookie Of The Year: Freshman Bo Tripodi earned America East Rookie of the Year honors. He led all conference rookies in goals scored (25) and points (35) during the regular season, winning AE Rookie of the Week honors five times in 2005. He picked up where he left off by notching a pair of goals in SB's 12-6 win over UMBC.

Reaching 50: Jason Cappadoro, a 2005 AE second-team pick, registered six points (3g, 3a) in the win over UMBC to raise his season point total to a team-leading 53. In doing so, he became the 15th player in school history to score 50 or more points in a single season. He now has 142 career points which pulls him into a tie for fifth place on SB's all-time scoring list with Chris Kollmer. John Warrack is the school's all-time leader with 156 career points. Cappadoro's 57 career assists is fifth best all-time. Adam Marksberry enters the championship game with 49 points. Should he record at least one point, it will mark the first time since 1990 that two SB players registered 50 or more points in a season.

Welcome Matt: Freshman Matt Ural, who earned a spot on the America East All-Rookie team on Tuesday, continued his fine play into the postseason. He turned aside 11 UMBC shots to earn his fourth win of the season. He enters the title game with a 4-1 record to go along with a 6.77 GAA and .632 save percentage.

Rank Has Privilege: A win over Albany would give SB its fourth win over a nationally-ranked team this season after enterting 2005 with only two wins over ranked opponents in the program's 16-year Division I history. SB is 3-2 versus ranked teams this season and 5-45 all-time against ranked opponents.

At Close Range: Stony Brook's starting close defense features two all-conference selections. Kyle Pearl earned his third straight first-team honor on Tuesday while senior David Weiss garnered second-team recognition.

On The Mark:Junior Adam Marksberry was a big-time playmaker on Wednesday night. He notched a career-high four assists in the win and now has 28 assists this season. He entered 2005 with 13 career assists.

Playoff History: A look at SB in the America East playoffs:
2002 (No. 4 seed)
Semifinals: Stony Brook 7, Hartford 6 OT
Finals: Stony Brook 8, Albany 6
NCAA: Cornell 12, Stony Brook 3
2003 (No. 3 seed)
Semifinals: Albany 11, Stony Brook 5
2004 (No. 4 seed)
Semifinals: Binghamton 7, Stony Brook 6 OT
2005 (No. 4 seed)
Semifinals: Stony Brook 12, UMBC 6

Extra Special: Stony Brook's extra-man unit has been outstanding all year long. The Seawolves have converted 35 of 76 (.461) man-up opportunities. Entering the week, SB trailed only Denver in man-up conversions. SB is 0-2 in games where it has not scored a man-up goal (Albany and Binghamton).

Facing Off: One of Stony Brook strengths this season has been its performance on faceoffs. Jim Astea has captured over 59 percent of his draws while Michael Poch has won a solid 57 percent. SB won 16 of 24 draws in the first meeting with Albany this season. Sean Makes It Count Earning his first start since March 12, Sean Chamberlain made the most of his opportunity. He scored three times and added an assist against UMBC and leads the team with nine man-up goals. Chamberlain, who enters Saturday's game with 21 goals, scored only six as a freshman.

Engine, Engine Number 9: Sophomore Adam Lent turned in arguably his best game in a Seawolf uniform on Wednesday. The long-stick middie scooped up a career-high nine ground balls in the win.

News And Notes: SB's 10-win season is its first since 2002 and the third in the program's history . . . Rhys Duch, Ural and Tripodi were named to the America East All-Rookie team . . . assistant coach Kevin Cassese has been invited to tryout for the U.S. World Team in June . . . Poch won 9 of 13 face-offs vs. UMBC and recorded eight ground balls . . . . SB is 2-0 on grass this year.