UAlbany Men's Lacrosse Upsets #13 Syracuse, 16-15, in Double Overtime to Kick Off 2013 with a Bang
SYRACUSE, N.Y.
– It was a fitting Thompson-to-Thompson ending, as Lyle passed the ball to
Miles, who found the back of the net with 3:03 to play in the second overtime,
giving UAlbany men's lacrosse its first-ever win over Syracuse. The Great Danes
defeated the 13th-ranked Orange, 16-15, in the 2013 season opener
for both programs. It was just the second overtime game in 11 meetings between
the two teams, and the first double-overtime contest. It was the first season-opening loss for the Orange since 1996.
UAlbany got on the board first, as all three Thompsons were involved in
the first two goals. Miles scored the Great Danes' first goal, while Lyle assisted
Ty at 10:23 to give UAlbany a 2-0 lead over the Orange. UAlbany kept it going
with a goal by Will Fuller before Ty Thompson connected on a behind-the-back
shot to push the Great Dane lead to 4-0 with 6:56 to play in the first quarter.
Syracuse ended the UAlbany rally at 5:13 on a goal by Derek Maltz, but UAlbany
pushed the lead to 5-1 at 3:03, as Ty completed a hat trick with an unassisted
tally. The Orange scored one more time before the end of the period, getting a
goal from Henry Schoonmaker with 8.1 seconds to go.
Syracuse scored first to start the second, as Luke Cometti took an
assist from JoJo Marasco less than a minute into play. However, Miles Thompson
responded, as he stole an outlet pass from Syracuse goalkeeper Bobby Wardwell,
dodged, and found the back of the net with 11:35 to play. Fuller netted his
second of the day with an unassisted goal at 8:06, pushing the UAlbany lead to
8-3. Syracuse took advantage of an extra-man opportunity with 5:31 left in the
first half, as Matt Walters took an assist from Billy Ward to cut the Orange
deficit to 8-4. Syracuse scored last to end the half with under a minute to go,
as Marasco connected on an unassisted shot with 54 seconds to play.
UAlbany found the back of the net to start the third quarter, as Ryan
Feuerstein took an assist from Matt Garziano at 14:30. However, Syracuse
responded two minutes later, as Marasco netted his second goal of the day to
cut the UAlbany lead to 9-6, with 12:58 to play. The Orange cut the Great Dane
lead to two, 9-7, with just over nine minutes to play in the third, and pulled
within one, 9-8, less than a minute later, as Ward, then Kevin Rice scored for
Syracuse. 22 seconds later, Scott Loy tied the game, prompting UAlbany to take
a timeout. Lyle Thompson put the Great Danes back on top with an unassisted
goal at 6:51, and Kevin Glueckert won the ensuing faceoff to give UAlbany
another possession. Another Thompson-to-Thompson connection gave the Great
Danes back a two-goal lead, 11-9, as Lyle fed Ty in front of the goal at 4:41.
Derrick Eccles scored his first collegiate goal at 3:28 on an assist from Miles
Thompson, and Feuerstein scored his second goal of the game 25 seconds later,
putting UAlbany back on top, 13-9.
The Great Danes got a goal from Ty Thompson, with an assist from
Fuller, to push the lead back to four, 14-10, at 13:51 of the fourth period.
Cometti responded at the other end following the faceoff, and the Great Danes were
unable to take advantage of an extra-man opportunity. Ryan Barber scored an
unassisted goal at 11:15 to pull back within two, and the Orange cut it back to
one at 8:49 on a tally by Dylan Donahue. Stenberg netted his first of the
season at 7:25 to push the lead back to 15-13, but Donahue struck again for the
Orange at 4:21 to pull back within one, and then completed a trifecta off an
assist from Marasco to tie the game at 15-15 with just under three minutes to
play.
Syracuse dominated the first overtime period, taking five shots – three
on goal, all stopped by Blaze Riorden – to UAlbany's zero. The Great Danes won
the faceoff to start the second OT, and Lyle found Miles in front of the net
for the sudden victory goal.
“These guys have such a great feel for lacrosse and for each other," said UAlbany head coach Scott Marr, in reference to the Thompsons. "It makes it really easy for us to say 'What's working? What do you want to do?' We put it in their hands basically."
The Orange held the advantage in most categories, but not by much.
Syracuse outshot UAlbany, 47-45, and held a 36-32 advantage in groundballs. The
Orange also won 20-of-35 faceoff opportunities, and the teams were tied with 15
turnovers apiece. However, freshman
goalkeeper Riorden was stellar between the pipes for the Great Danes, making 13
saves in 64:57 minutes to earn his first collegiate win. Wardwell stopped seven shots for the Orange.
UAlbany will continue the season on Saturday, Feb. 23, visiting Drexel
for a 1 p.m. faceoff.
