America East Quarter-Finals: Vermont Shut Out New Hampshire, UAlbany Survive a Bryant Thriller in Overtime
The America East play-offs started with a shutout and a thriller, and both lower seeds are still alive.
Fifth seed Vermont went to fourth seed New Hampshire and won 2-0 on Sunday, knocking out the hosts and setting up a semi-final at top seed UMass Lowell on Tuesday at 1pm. Vermont came into the play-offs as the league’s most dangerous attacking side, leading America East in shots on goal, points and goals per game, and they finally turned that pressure into a post-season win after losing their regular-season finale to Maine in a shootout.
The other quarter-final was a completely different kind of game. Third seed UAlbany beat sixth seed Bryant 4-3 in overtime at Alumni Turf, and they did it the hard way. Bryant led three times. UAlbany trailed 2-1 at half-time, then 3-2 going into the fourth quarter, and they had to pull their goalkeeper for an extra field player with over five minutes left just to stay alive.
That gamble paid off. Pilar Lorenzini scored twice from penalty strokes, the second with 3:05 left to tie it at 3-3, and then Mara Küskes won it from a penalty corner in overtime after Lorenzini’s assist. Lorenzini finished with two goals and two assists, six points in all, and freshman Quinty Reumer, the conference Rookie of the Year, led UAlbany with eight shots. The shot count tells the story of the afternoon: UAlbany 24, Bryant 8, and 19 on goal to Bryant’s four. Bryant just wouldn’t go away until Küskes finally ended it.
So Tuesday’s semi-finals are set: No. 1 UMass Lowell host No. 5 Vermont at 1pm, and No. 2 Maine host No. 3 UAlbany at 3pm. The final is on Friday 6 November at the highest remaining seed. Vermont already know what a semi-final feels like, they reached the championship game in each of the past two seasons, and UAlbany have now won a game they had no right to win. Tuesday should be fun.
Related links:
https://sportscursor.com/nescac-quarterfinals-tufts-middlebury-williams-bowdoin-1-november-2026/
https://sportscursor.com/us-college-saturday-titles-rowan-rhodes-westfield-31-october-2026/
https://sportscursor.com/latest-news/
https://sportscursor.com/live/
