ALBANY, N.Y. – The #6/5 UAlbany men’s lacrosse team went back-and-forth with #3/3 in an absolute thriller in front of 3,093 at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium, narrowly falling 12-11 on Wednesday.
UAlbany (9-2) had a pair of 3-0 runs in the game, having a tie game with Maryland (8-2) seconds into the fourth quarter. After Maryland had a two-goal lead in the closing minutes, the Great Danes pulled to within one and had the final possession, but did not score.
Connor Fields had another career day, finishing with eight points, off three goals and five assists, adding a pair of caused turnovers. He had a hand in eight of UAlbany’s 11 goals, including seven of the first eight.
“Our team was on Fields’s back today, and we played outstanding,” said UAlbany head coach Scott Marr. “I was proud of our attitude and our effort. We were right there, and we need to just keep going.”
With the defeat, UAlbany’s nine-game winning streak comes to a close. UAlbany’s lone two losses on the year have come to teams currently ranked in the top-3 of the USILA Coaches and Inside Lacrosse Media Polls.
3,093 is the second-highest crowd ever for a men’s lacrosse game at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium and biggest in the last two seasons.
UAlbany outshot Maryland in the game 39-33 and won 16-of-27 faceoffs.
Justin Reh led all UAlbany players with four goals, adding a pair of ground balls, while Sean Eccles had two. TD Ierlan won 16-of-27 faceoffs and picked up seven ground balls, adding an assist. JD Colarusso got the loss in goal with eight saves, with Eli Lasda causing three turnovers.
For Maryland, Tim Rotanz had a hat trick, while Matt Rambo finished with two goals and one assist. Dan Morris had the win in goal, saving 12 shots.
UAlbany got off to a fast start, scoring the first three goals, including two in the opening 4:03. Fields scored on a spin around a defender for a close range shot, then set up Reh on a catch and shoot on the doorstep. With the UAlbany defense protecting, Fields threw a behind-the-back pass to Eccles for the quick shot score, making it 3-0 UAlbany with 2:41 left in the 1st.
Maryland netted three goals in the final two minutes of the quarter, including two off turnovers on the faceoff, to even up the score at 3-3 after one.
UAlbany got back the lead with 12:19 left in the 2nd as Bennett Drake scores after a restart with a perfectly placed shot in the upper right corner. Maryland got the next two goals following faceoff wins, then UAlbany countered, taking advantage of a man-up situation with a rip and score on a low shot by Reh. The game was tied 5-5 with 9:10 left in the 2nd.
Colarusso saved a pair of Maryland shots on one possession, with UAlbany missing a couple of shots wide the other way. In the last 1:30 of the half, Maryland scored twice to go up 7-5 at the break.
Following a Maryland goal to begin the third quarter, a Lasda caused turnover on the ride eventually led to Fields getting free and scoring off his left hand around his defender. After defending on man-down, UAlbany fired three times at the cage, connecting after a ground ball from behind the net was picked up by Fields, thrown to John Glancy for the straight away score. A minute later, UAlbany tied the game up with Fields spinning off his defender and scoring in a narrow window on the right post to make it 8-8 with 5:59 left in the 3rd.
Maryland again scored on a late quarter goal as Colin Heacock scored with 23 seconds left in the 3rd, giving Maryland a 9-8 lead.
UAlbany struck fast off a won Ierlan faceoff as the freshman passed to Reh for the shot and score seven seconds in, tying the game up. Maryland took advantage of a man-up penalty and scored, adding another 90 seconds later for an 11-9 lead with 10:45 left.
Lasda forced another turnover, giving UAlbany back the ball. Again the Great Danes peppered the net: on the fourth chance, Eccles fired while falling to his left and scoring on the right, bringing UAlbany within one. Maryland got the goal back two minutes later for 12-10 Terrapins with 5:40 to go.
The UAlbany ride forced a turnover with four minutes left, leading to Fields drawing the double, passing off to a wide open Reh for the laser shot and score. UAlbany was down 12-11 with 3:34 left to play.
UAlbany won the next faceoff, losing the ball on a wide shot that was picked up by Maryland. UAlbany got back possession with 41 seconds left and tried twice at the cage, but neither went in. Maryland held for the 12-11 victory.
UAlbany has a week until its next game, playing at Binghamton on Wednesday, April 19th at 7 p.m. in Vestal.
