By Jessyca Tingue | April 1, 2024
Cincebox, McCauley and Pascale played crucial roles to help the team remain undefeated in the America East conference.
Grace McCauley (#34) had six goals on Saturday.
Photo Credit: Brent Warzocha / UAlbany Athletics
The University at Albany women’s lacrosse team remains undefeated in the America East conference, now 3-0 after beating the Bryant Bulldogs 14-11 at home on Saturday.
The Great Danes put up some strong numbers in the second half to overcome the Bulldogs. They managed to outshoot Bryant 21-16, won 11 of 16 faceoff draws and limited turnovers and fouls to secure the victory.
“Really, really proud of how our team responded in the second half,” said UAlbany Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Katie Thompson. “Being down, we really recommitted to doing our game plans and sticking to who we are and thought that really helped propel us throughout the second half.”
In the first half, Bryant dominated overall, especially on offense as they outshot UAlbany 19-12 and tallied 13 ground balls, while UAlbany only had 7. Senior attacker Kenna Kaut came out red hot for the Bulldogs, scoring four goals. This landed UAlbany in a three goal deficit at halftime, as Bryant led 7-4.
“The team was facing some adversity…we haven’t been feeling our best with some illness,” Thompson said. “So just the way that they responded to that [adversity] and just to play our game and they really did that and believed, and trusted that process, [they] really showed that in the second half.”
The Great Danes outscored Bryant 5-1 in the third quarter, which gave the team all the offensive momentum needed for the rest of the game. Senior midfielder Katie Pascale’s goal with 2:37 left in the quarter put the team up 9-8, earning their first lead of the game they would not look back from. UAlbany would score five more goals, going on a 10-4 run, to seal the win.
“Our attitude going out to the field was to pick up the energy and be there for each other,” said junior attacker Grace McCauley. “We started celebrating the little things and that is what led us to picking it up.”
McCauley, alongside Pascale led the offensive charge in Saturday’s win. The junior scored six goals – with three assisted by Pascale – and Pascale scoring three of her own. McCauley credits her productive day to strong teamwork.
“Big credit to my teammates… they’re [the] whole support system,” McCauley said after the win. “I also work well with Katie and so I think we do a lot of two-man games together. It gets me open, and the double team goes to her and so she’s a lot to credit for that.”
Midfielders Kloey Roos, Courtney Rowe, and Paisley Cook, also found the back of the cage in UAlbany’s victory. Roos and Rowe each scored two goals while Cook scored one.
As for the defense, they limited Kraut to just two goals in the second half, but the outstanding defensive performance came from goalkeeper Grace Cincebox. She recorded 13 saves, and eight ground balls across the day.
“Grace had an incredible game,” Thompson said. “She was facing a lot of shots early on and really being steady in there and making great saves. Also having so many ground balls to create more possessions for our team.”
For the defending America East champions, the road doesn’t get any easier. The Great Danes will now carry their two-game win streak and perfect conference record into Baltimore next week, as they are set to play the UMBC Retrievers.
“Our conference is so competitive, and every game is such a battle and hard-fought by both teams,” Thompson said. “So we're just looking to stick to what we do and focusing on ways to gain possession and keep possession.”