by DALLAS – The #8/7 UAlbany men’s lacrosse team got off to a 3-1 start but fell to #13/9 Cornell 16-9 in the 2015 Patriot Cup at a cold and icy Ford Stadium in Dallas.
We had more turnovers in the first half than we do in most games,” said UAlbany coach Scott Marr. “Offensively we had opportunities, but we just turned the ball over. When you turn the ball over, and you’re not winning face-offs, you’re going to have a long day.”
UAlbany (1-1) took an early 3-1 lead in the first 6:13 of the first quarter in a 30-degree day in Dallas. Cornell (3-1) countered with a 5-0 run, later turning that into a 10-2 streak into the third quarter to take the lead for good.
UAlbany was outshot by Cornell 43-33 in the game and won 12-of-29 faceoffs.
Lyle Thompson (Onondaga Nation) led UAlbany with two goals and two assists, increasing his point streak to 29-consecutive games. John Maloney scored twice and picked up six ground balls while Jake Cullen earned a goal and two assists. Blaze Riorden got the loss despite 12 saves.
For Cornell, Connor Buczek notched five goals and an assist. Matt Donovan concluded with three goals and two assists. Christian Knight earned the win in goal with 14 saves.
The game was delayed 30 minutes due to ice and snow covering the Ford Stadium turf.
After a Donovan goal put Cornell on the board, UAlbany put together a 3-0 run in a span of 81 seconds. Thompson set up Tim Cox and Jake Cullen for scores, then Ky Tarbell found Maloney for a goal not long off the faceoff for a 3-1 UAlbany lead with 8:47 left in the first quarter.
Cornell finished the quarter with four-consecutive scores, started by two Buczek goals and continued with goals from Dan Lintner and John Edmonds with seven seconds left in the period, to put the Big Red up 5-3.
Busczek added another unassisted goal minutes into the second quarter. After nearly five minutes of scoreless play, Thompson ran around the cage and inside his defender for the goal to stop Cornell’s run. With just over five minutes left, a two-minute unreleasable penalty on UAlbany put Cornell man-up. John Hogan and Donovan each scored in a span of 42 seconds, with Kason Tarbell adding another at even strength with 2:01 left in the quarter to make it 9-4 Cornell.
In the period’s closing seconds, Bennett Drake received a laser pass from Connor Fields for the score man-up. Cornell quickly got the goal back from Chris Cook off the faceoff, making the eventual halftime score 10-5 Big Red.
Cornell again had a quick goal to start the third period, with Buczek scoring his fourth. The two teams exchanged goals back and forth in the final 10 minutes of the third quarter. Thompson fired a low shot for the score, followed by Hogan netting a goal 100 seconds later. Maloney earned his second goal from Cullen at the 5:26 mark. Three minutes later in a man-up situation, Donovan scored from Buczek. Next minute, Fields scored on a transition play for UAlbany. Before the end of the period, Bradlee Lord scored with 22 seconds remaining to make it 14-8 Cornell after three quarters.
Cornell looked to slow down the possessions in the final quarter. Derrick Eccles had a shot saved by Kinght, but tried again 20 seconds later and scored from Cullen to bring UAlbany within five. UAlbany did not score again as later goals by Lintner and Buczek essentially sealed the game for Cornell 16-9.
UAlbany will have its home opener on Saturday, March 7th, taking on UMass at 3 p.m.
