UMBC

Boston, Mass.- The UMBC women’s lacrosse team held explosive Stony Brook to more than five goals below their season average, but the third-seeded Retrievers (8-9) fell to the No. 2 Seawolves, 9-7, at Nickerson Field in the second semifinal game in the 2012 America East Championships.

Stony Brook (14-4) will face No. 4 Albany in Saturday’s title match.

Senior midfielder Alicia Krause (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron) led a balanced attack with a goal and two assists. Senior attacker Emily Coady (Westminster, Md./Westminster), junior midfielder Lindsday Cox (High Bridge, N.J.) and sophomore midfielder Kristen Bilney (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron) scored two goals apiece.

Claire Petersen led all scorers with a goal and four helpers.

Stony Brook was averaging 14.5 goals per game and scored 16 vs. UMBC in their 16-6 regular season victory. But UMBC limited the Seawolves to 21shots and Retriever freshman goalkeeper Anna Barnett (Midland, Texas) excelled with eight saves in the nets.

SBU never trailed, but the Retrievers rallied from a four-goal first half deficit and came within 8-7 when Bilney converted a feed from Krause with 4:54 remaining in the game. UMBC would control the ensuing draw, but committed a turnover with 4:19 to play and the Seawolves drew three fouls before converting on a Michelle Rubino goal with 2:42 to play in regulation.

The Retrievers regained possession on the next draw, but Cox had a pair of shots stopped by SBU netminder Hannah Perruccio in a 21-second span and the Seawolves held on for the victory.

Stony Brook jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first seven minutes, but scores by Krause and Coady got UMBC even with 13:51 to play in the first half. But the Seawolves went on a 4-0 run in the latter stages of the half before Cox scored twice in the final minute to trim the deficit to 6-4 at the break.

Neither team scored for the first 12 minutes of the second half before SBU took a pair of three goals leads. Coady got the Retrievers to within 8-6 with 12:31 to play on a free position shot before Bilney got UMBC within a goal for the first time since they trailed, 3-2.

As the lower seed, the Retrievers had earned a trip to the title game in each of the past two seasons.