ALBANY, N.Y. – For the 17^th time in program history, the University at Albany men's lacrosse team will face off in the America East Championship Game tomorrow, May 4. The top-seeded Great Danes will host #2 Vermont at 3:00 p.m. from Tom & Mary Casey Stadium in Albany. The game will air live on ESPNU with Don Zimmerman and Kevin Fitzgerald on the call.
 
Game Info
May 4, 2024
#1 UAlbany vs. #2 Vermont
Tom & Mary Casey Stadium in Albany, N.Y.
3:00 p.m.
ESPNU | Live Stats | Tickets
 
The More You Know

• Saturday's game will be the 17^th appearance for the Great Danes in the America East Championship Game.
• The men's lacrosse program has won nine America East Championships dating back to 2002, with the most recent coming in 2018.
• UAlbany made the America East Championship last year, falling to Bryant in double overtime.
• Also last season, Vermont hosted the America East Championship as the league's top seed. The Great Danes bounced the Catamounts in the Semifinals with a 10-4 victory as the #4 seed.
• This year, the Great Danes captured their 12^th America East Regular Season Championship all-time.

 
Leading the Pack

• Captain Jake Piseno has been UAlbany's go-to man for just about everything this year. The two-time AE Defensive Player of the Year sits second in the nation with 2.40 caused turnovers per game and has more ground balls (69) than anybody in the America East outside of faceoff specialists. He's scored 11 times this year with the long pole, adding five assists. In Thursday's Semifinal, Piseno registered a goal, an assist, and four ground balls.  
• Sophomore attack Silas Richmond paces the America East in points with 59 on the year. He's scored 37 goals and added 22 assists for an average of 3.93 points per game. He recorded a season-high eight points in Thursday's Semifinal matchup, scoring four goals and adding four assists.
• Faceoff specialist Regan Endres has been dominant for UAlbany at the X this season. He currently sports a faceoff percentage of .604, now second in the conference overall. When accounting for conference-only games this season however, he paced the league with a .618 percentage and 8.86 ground balls per game. He has won more faceoffs than he has lost in all but two games this year. In Thursday's Semifinal, he led the way for UA at the X by going 20-25 and adding a goal.
• Freshmen got the job done in a big way on Thursday night in the Semifinals. Ryan Doherty, the 2024 AE Rookie of the Year, paced the Great Danes with five goals, scoring a hat trick in the first 10 minutes of play. He added an assist for a six-point night. AE All-Rookie selection Jackson Palumb followed close behind with three goals and an assist for four points. Goalkeeper Landon Whitney, also an All-Rookie Selection, recorded 14 saves while allowing just seven goals.

 
All-Conference
UAlbany collected 13 awards on Wednesday afternoon when the America East released its end of year awards. Collecting major awards was Jake Piseno (Defensive Player of the Year), Ryan Doherty (Rookie of the Year) and Head Coach Scott Marr and his staff (Coach of the Year.
 
Piseno was named an All-Conference First Team selection with Teammates Graydon Hogg, Silas Richmond, and Conner Fingar. Making the All-Conference Second Team was Regan Endres and Wil Pepe. Doherty, Jackson Palumb, and Landon Whitney were named to the conference's All-Rookie Team. Hogg represented the Great Danes on the All-Academic Team.
 
Scouting #2 Vermont
Vermont took down #3 UMBC on Thursday evening in dramatic fashion, taking the game 10-8 after trailing for almost the entire game. A goal from Tristan Whitaker with 2:33 remaining tied the game at 8-8, with the Catamounts taking a 9-8 lead 14 seconds later on a goal from Max Frattaroli. The game became 10-8 in the closing seconds on what was essentially an empty netter to end any hopes of a comeback for the retrievers.

• Charlie Pope was named the Conference's Offensive Player of the Year after he led the AE in scoring with 40 goals and ranked 16th nationally. He was sixth in the conference in points per game, averaging 3.36, as he posted career highs in goals with 40 and 47 points. He was also named to the all-conference first team for the first time.
• George Egan was named the Goalie of the Year after finishing the season sixth in goals against average, fourth in save percentage, and fourth in saves per game. He was also named to the all-conference first team for the first time.
• Brock Haley was named to the all-conference first team for the second time. The versatile offensive weapon was second on the team in scoring with 45 points (18 G, 27 A). His 27 career-high assists were the third most in the league. He was named America East Offensive Player of the Week once this season, averaging 4.42 points per game during conference play.
• Jack Combs earned spots on both the all-conference first team and the all-rookie team. He finished the regular season with 24 caused turnovers and 58 ground balls. The 24 caused turnovers are tied for the third most in a single season by a Catamount ever and are the second most in the nation among first years.
• Tim Manning was nominated to the all-conference first team for the first time in his career. Manning finishes the regular season with a career-high nine caused turnovers and 18 ground balls. His nine caused turnovers are tied for third-most on the team, and he has recorded two in the games this season.

 
History vs. #2 Vermont
UAlbany holds a 19-11 all-time record against the Catamounts. The Great Danes broke an eight-game losing streak to Vemront in last year's Semifinals, winning 10-4 in Burlington. Earlier this season, the program took down Vermont at Casey Stadium by a score of 13-11 to break the Catamounts' regular-season winning streak. In that game:

• Silas Richmond led the team with four goals and an assist. He added a key ground ball that came in the final minutes of the game, keeping possession in favor of the Great Danes.
• Freshman Ryan Doherty finished with three goals and an assist for four points, taking seven shots on goal.
• Graydon Hogg tallied two goals and an assist for three points.
• Amos Whitcomb, Jackson Palumb, Caeden LaPietro, and Alex Pfeiffer all scored once. For LaPietro, it was the first of his collegiate career.
• Ben Wimmer and Daniel Kesselring each tallied two assists.
• Jake Piseno finished with a team-high seven ground balls.
• Freshman keeper Landon Whitney finished with nine saves.
• Regan Endres went 70% at the X, winning 19 of 27 faceoffs.

 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes dominated #4 Merrimack on Thursday night in the America East Semifinals, winning by a score of 18-7 to advance to the Championship Game.

• Ryan Doherty led all goal scorers with five, adding an assist and a caused turnover for a six-point night.
• Silas Richmond led the team in points with four goals and four assists. The sophomore added three ground balls in his dominating performance. 
• Freshman Jackson Palumb recorded a hat trick, adding an assist.
• Regan Endres was dominant at the X, going 20-25 on faceoffs with a team-high 14 ground balls.
• Freshman keeper Landon Whitney recorded 14 saves for a .667 save percentage, allowing just seven goals.

 
Next: With a win, UAlbany will advance to the NCAA Tournament for the 11^th time in school history.