Kelly Fahey scored a career-high six points (5g, 1a) to lead the Retrievers past Binghamton.

Vestal, N.Y.-The UMBC women’s lacrosse team (10-7, 5-1 AEC) clinched its first-ever America East regular season title with an 18-7 victory over host Binghamton (4-13, 0-5 AEC) Saturday afternoon. The Retrievers will host the four-team conference championships next weekend and take on fourth-seeded New Hampshire in the first semifinal game.

The Retrievers dominated the Bearcats from the start, scoring eight of the first nine goals, including four straight to start the game. Senior midfielder Kelly Fiorani scored three times during the 8-1 run, while junior midfielder Lynnea Spinnenweber and sophomore attack Ali Levendusky each scored twice.

Binghamton scored three of the final five goals of the first half, but UMBC held a 10-4 lead at intermission.

The Bearcats pulled to within five at 12-7 with 20:15 to play in the game, but the Retrievers tallied the final six goals for the 18-7 victory. Junior midfielder Kelly Fahey scored twice in the game-ending 6-0 run, while sophomore defender Maggie Chizmar scored the first goal of her career.

Fahey scored a career-high six points on a career-best five goals and one assist to lead all scorers. Fiorani (4g, 1a) and junior attack Jen Kasper (2g, 3a) each tallied five points, while Levendusky (2g, 2a) amassed four points.

Fiorani has scored at least one goal in all 17 games this season. The five points moved her into a tie with Laurie Linnell (’87) for third-place all-time at UMBC with 187 career points, just four behind Alison Zaetz (’96). The four goals and five points also give her a career-high 38 and 51, respectively.

Lauren Wetherell led the Bearcats with four points (1g, 3a), while Heather Grose tallied three goals.

UMBC freshman goalie Susie Sweeney recorded nine saves in the win, while Binghamton netminder Carolyn Cuneo also stopped nine shots in the loss.

The Retrievers out-shot the Bearcats, 33-19, and held a 35-26 advantage on ground balls and a 16-10 advantage on draw controls.

The last time the Retrievers won a regular season conference title was 2003, when they took the Northeast Conference crown with a 7-1 league mark and went on to win the conference championships and advance to the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to top-seeded Loyola in the first round.

Last season, the Retrievers were the fourth seed in the America East Championships with a 3-3 league record and fell to top-seeded and eventual conference champion Boston University, 20-5.

UMBC will take on No. 4 New Hampshire (10-6, 4-2 AEC) in the first semifinal game on Friday, May 5 at UMBC Stadium. The Wildcats defeated the Retrievers, 20-9, on April 8 in Durham, N.H., accounting for UMBC’s only conference loss.

The second semifinal game will feature No. 2 Boston University (13-4, 5-1 AEC) and No. 3 Stony Brook (9-8, 4-2 AEC), directly following the conclusion of the first contest. The Terriers previously defeated the Seawolves, 16-5, on March 25 in Boston.

The championship game will be played on Sunday, May 7, and will feature the winners of the two semifinal games. Game times will be determined this evening.