Women's Lacrosse Drops a Close Matchup at #14 Michigan

By Cameron Cupp

Sam Tortora and the Great Danes had a strong showing against #14 ranked Michigan (Courtesy UAlbany Athletics)

The University at Albany women's lacrosse (1-2) team fell to the 14th ranked University of Michigan Wolverines (4-1) on Saturday, by a close score of 12-11.

This is the first time that the Great Danes have visited the University of Michigan in program history.

Their strong performance against a talented Michigan team gives lots of momentum to the Great Danes, who have yet to enter league play.

UAlbany was led by Sam Tortora. The senior midfielder scored four goals and had two assists. Other notable performances for the Great Danes include fellow seniors Madison Conway, who scored three goals, and Georgia Schneidereith made 13 saves.

“It was an exciting game against an aggressive and strong team in Michigan, we are so proud of the team for coming from behind,” said Head Coach Rowan Thompson. “We have many really positive takeaways and feel like we got better together today, we can't wait to continue to grow with this special group.”

The Wolverines’ Caitlin Muir led her team with five goals, and Kaley Thompson recorded three goals.

In the first half, Michigan came out firing on all cylinders, as they went on a 6-0 run to start the game. UAlbany scored their first goal with 11:41 to go in the half.

From that point on, UAlbany would go on to outscore their adversaries 11-6, including their first goal, for the rest of the game.

Before the half could close, UAlbany cut the lead to only three goals, as Michigan held onto a slim 6-3 lead.

Tortora would open the second half with her second goal of the day, cutting the lead to two. However, Michigan would finally answer with 24:52 left to play.

Only 35 seconds later, Tortora scored again for the Great Danes. This cut the lead to 7-5.

Michigan would answer with two quick, back to back goals with 12:07 remaining in the game.

With only 2:12 left to go in the second, UAlbany’s Hailey Carroll scored her second goal of the game to bring the Danes within one, but could not score within the time remaining, finishing with the close score of 12-11.

After nearly pulling off an upset, the Great Danes will return to Albany to play Canisius college in their first home game of the season, on Saturday.