top of page

Late-Game Goal Hands Men’s Lacrosse a Loss in Home Opener

By Vince Gasparini | February 19, 2023


A young University at Albany men’s lacrosse team faced off against Colgate in their season opener at home on Saturday (2/17), losing by a final score of 11-10 in a back and forth match that saw each team commit 20 or more turnovers. Eight of the Great Danes’ 10 goals came from freshmen and sophomore players on their roster.


Sophomore defenseman Max Neeson (#44)


“First game, against a very good opponent who played very hard and very physical,” head coach Scott Marr said. “Super proud of my team though.” Marr emphasized how young of a team the Great Danes are, having started seven freshmen against the Raiders, and the fact that it was just their first game of the season while it was their opponent’s fourth.


Colgate began their scoring in an onslaught in the first quarter, scoring three goals within two minutes to gain an early lead. However, UAlbany answered in similar fashion just a few minutes later, scoring three goals in just under a minute and a half.


A strong second quarter performance by Colgate brought them into halftime with a 7-5 lead, which UAlbany slimmed to just a 10-9 lead by the end of the third quarter. With 7:53 remaining in the fourth quarter, a goal by Ryan Doherty off an assist by Will Hardy tied the game at 10. However, with just 1:25 remaining in the game, Colgate’s Rory Connor put a shot past UAlbany goalkeeper Landon Whitney to take a late 11-10 lead, which the Raiders held onto to seal their win.


“It’s close down the stretch there, but we just made some decisions here and there that we would like back,” sophomore attackman Silas Richmond said. Richmond scored four goals for the Great Danes on Saturday.


UAlbany took 34 shots to Colgate’s 35. Of their shots, 23 were on goal, while Colgate put up a mark of 24 in the same category.


Despite the loss, Doherty, who was in his debut game as a Great Dane, called the experience of playing in his first college lacrosse game “surreal.” 


“I’ve wanted to do this for so long,” Doherty said. “To have that moment out there with all the guys was really special, and it’s definitely one I won’t forget.” Doherty scored two of UAlbany’s goals, netting their first goal of the day in the first quarter.


Despite their 0-1 start to the season, Marr is confident that his team will bounce back, and was impressed by how they performed against Colgate, a team that received votes for the ESPN men’s college lacrosse rankings, which ranks the top 20 teams in Division I.


“Unfortunately, we didn’t put it away at the end of the game,” Marr said. “But I just give our kids a lot of credit for the effort that they put in.”


The Great Danes travel to face the University of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, the beginning of a three game road trip.

Comments


bottom of page