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The third-seeded Vermont Catamounts take on the second-seeded Stony Brook Seawolves in the America East semifinal round tomorrow (May 3) afternoon at Casey Stadium in Albany, New York.
 
The game is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. and will air on the recently unveiled ESPN+ platform.  
 
RELATED LINKS
Video ($) | Live Stats | CatamounTV Preview | Game Notes
 
SCOUTING THE SEAWOLVES
Stony Brook enters the America East tournament with a 7-7 overall record and 5-1 mark in conference play. The Seawolves grabbed a share of the regular season title with Albany, but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Great Danes. Beginning with its win over Vermont in the regular season, Stony Brook has won three straight, taking down UMass Lowell and Binghamton to close out the season.
 
Tom Haun leads the team in goals (22) and points (36). He earned America East Offensive Player of the Week honors last week after five points against Binghamton. Jack Walsh leads the Seawolves with 24 assists and is second on the team with 32 points. Michael Bollinger has played the majority of minutes in goal, and holds a 10.97 GAA and a .469 save percentage.
 
Stony Brook is one of 19 Division I teams averaging less than 12 giveaways a game. The Seawolves rank 13th in the country with 11.36 turnovers per contest. Stony Brook is near the bottom of the NCAA in man-down defense, allowing 21 man-up goals in 42 opportunities. At the faceoff X, Stony Brook ranks 70th in the NCAA with a .319 success rate. The Seawolves are only ahead of the Furman Paladins (.305) at the X.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Vermont's lone program win over Stony Brook is also Vermont's most recent win over a nationally-ranked opponent. UVM took down the Seawolves in the 2016 America East Tournament to make its first-ever trip to the title game. Vermont won in 2016 by a 10-9 final over the 14th-ranked Stony Brook squad.
 
Stony Brook has won the two matchups since. Dating back to Vermont's win in 2016, the last three matchups have been decided by a single goal.
 
LAST TIME ON LONG ISLAND
Stony Brook hosted Vermont in mid-April and outlasted the Catamounts in an 8-7 double overtime victory. Nick Washuta made 16 saves in the one-goal loss while his counterpart, Michael Bollinger, made 16 saves and earned America East Defensive Player of the Week Honors. Ian MacKay finished the game with three goals and three assists for six points. Charlie Erdmann was 12-for-18 at the X.
 
UMBC RECAP
The Cats took on the second-ranked defense in UMBC and took a 9-6 victory over the Retrievers under the lights at Virtue Field last Friday (April 27). Honored before the game, the Class of 2018 recorded its 31st win over Division I opponents against UMBC, adding another win to a program record.
 
MacKay tallied a goal and added three assists and Ben French extended his consecutive goal streak to 16 games. Washuta stopped 11 of 17 shots to earn America East Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors.
 
AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENT
Albany won a share of the 2018 America East Regular Season crown for the sixth straight year and will host the AE Tournament at Casey Stadium for the fourth straight year. Albany takes on newcomer UMass Lowell in the semifinal round following the Vermont/Stony Brook game. The River Hawks are making the tournament for the first time in its fourth year as a program and first year with postseason eligibility.
 
Vermont makes the tournament for the third time in the past four years and will take on Stony Brook, who captured a share of the AE title with Albany.
 
CATAMOUNT DEFENSE AGAINST OPPONENTS
The Vermont defense is tied with Robert Morris for seventh in the nation, allowing just 7.93 goals per game. In 2018, UVM has held teams below its season average in 12 of 14 games and under 10 goals in nine games. Vermont is tied for 18th-nationally with 7.85 caused turnovers per contest, matching early-season opponent Holy Cross.
 
VERMONT IN THE NCAA
The Catamounts possess the seventh-ranked scoring defense in the nation, allowing only 7.93 goals per game. UVM is matched with Robert Morris, each allowing 111 goals in 14 games. On the other side of the field, the Catamount offense is tied for 27th-nationally, scoring 10.92 goals per game. The offense is matched with North Carolina with 153 goals in 14 games. Vermont's scoring margin is tied for ninth in the country at 3.00 goals/game, matched with Penn State.
 
BIG 8 DAYS FOR MACKAY
On April 18, MacKay was chosen 13th overall in the MLL Draft by the Chesapeake Bayhawks, joining assistant coach Jake Bernhardt's brother on the squad. MacKay became the first Cat since A.J. Masson '12 to be drafted by a professional lacrosse league.
 
On April 26, just eight days after being drafted, MacKay was one of 25 nominees announced for the 2018 Tewaaraton Award. The first Cat since Drew Philie '13 to be named to the initial Watchlist, MacKay is the first player in Green & Gold to make the cut-off as one of 25 nominees. Five finalists will be selected on Thursday, May 10.
 
MACKAY CLIMBS THE CAT RANKS
With four points under the lights at Virtue, MacKay now has 144 goals and 79 assists for 223 career points. He needs four goals to match Mygatt '88 for most in program history and 18 points to draw even with Mygatt for second in program history. MacKay is just 3 assists shy of matching Geoff Worley '12 for fourth all-time.
 
WASHUTA ATOP THE NCAA
Sophomore goalie Nick Washuta sits atop both the NCAA and the America East with a .608 save percentage. His 7.52 goals against average third in both the AE and the NCAA. He is 17th in the NCAA and second in the conference with 11.08 saves per game.
 
Washuta is one of nine goalies to record at least 10 wins in 2018 and one of just six with at least 11 wins. Only three goalies currently have 12 wins in 2018.
 
WASHUTA IN THE CATAMOUNT RECORD BOOK
Washuta became the first Catamount to record 11 wins in a single season last Friday against UMBC. The sophomore sits alone in sixth in Vermont's career wins list, with 15. His 7.52 GAA is currently the second lowest season-total in Vermont history.
 
Washuta is looking to become just the 10th Catamount goalie to ever finish a season stopping over 60% of shots faced. He would be the first Cat to reach the milestone since Mike Gabel in the 2003 season (.665) and just the third Cat since 1995 to accomplish the feat.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Catamounts finished the season a perfect 4-0 at Virtue Field, with wins over Sacred Heart, Binghamton, UMass Lowell, and UMBC. In 1994, the Cats defeated Colgate, Hartford, Middlebury, St. John's, and New Hampshire.
 
NEXT UP
The America East Championship game will be played on Saturday (May 5) in Albany, New York. The opening faceoff is set for 12 p.m. and the game will air on ESPNU.
 
NFP is the presenting sponsor for the 2018 men's lacrosse season