by VESTAL, N.Y. – With a seven-point night, Lyle Thompson (Onondaga Nation) matched the Division I scoring record of 354 points, leading the #8/9 UAlbany men’s lacrosse team to a 15-11 victory at Binghamton, securing the 1-seed and home field advantage for the Great Danes for the America East Tournament.
Thompson earned his seventh point on his lone goal of the night with 4:03 remaining in the fourth quarter. He also had six assists, passing the 200-assist mark to total 201 in his career.
“It is an honor to be up there with [top players], but it is something I honestly do not care too much about,” said Thompson, who equaled the DI scoring record of Cornell’s Rob Pannell. “I honestly do not think about it too much.”
“It is awesome, a heck of an achievement for Lyle, our program and all the kids associated with him over the course of the last four years,” added UAlbany coach Scott Marr.
UAlbany (9-2, 5-0 AE) lost a four-goal lead as Binghamton (3-7, 2-2 AE) scored five of the next six goals to tie the game at 7-7 with 9:42 left in the 3rd quarter. Seth Oakes and Matt Garziano each contributed two goals on a 4-0 team run. UAlbany held off a couple of Binghamton attacks to earn the road win, its 15th-consecutive America East victory.
UAlbany locks down the 1-seed and at least a share of the America East regular season title with the win. The Great Danes will host the 2015 America East Tournament on April 30th and May 2nd. UAlbany can earn the regular season title outright with a victory over UMBC on April 25th.
Oakes finished with a career-high six goals, adding an assist and three ground balls. Garziano had two goals and an assist while Ky Tarbell and Connor Fields each scored two goals. Blaze Riorden earned the victory in goal with 15 saves, including five in the fourth quarter, on 26 shots on goal.
Ben Kocis led Binghamton with four goals. JT Hauck had a goal and two assists while Paul O’Donnell netted two goals. Tanner Cosens got the loss in goal with nine saves.
After Riorden saved a low shot, UAlbany cleared. Thompson circled around and passed to Tarbell, who was wide open next to the circle for the goal. Each side exchanged a possession, then Emmett O’Hara scored on a long shot to tie the game. After some back and forth play off UAlbany turnovers on the offensive end and saves by Riorden to hold on defense, Thompson recovered a missed Fields shot behind the cage, passed to Oakes for the shot straight-away and score. Binghamton tied the game on a man-up situation from Kocis. UAlbany countered after Oakes picked up the loose ball, passed to John Maloney who passed to Tarbell far side for the shot and score. UAlbany added another after Garziano stole the ball on defense, cleared, passed to Oakes for the hard shot and goal in transition. In the closing seconds, Thompson passed to a wide openMatthew Bertrams, who heaved a long range shot for the goal, giving UAlbany a 5-2 lead after the first quarter.
UAlbany struck right away in the second quarter: As the teams were setting up after a won faceoff, Oakes passed to Tim Cox for a running shot and score near three BU defenders. Each side committed turnovers as the pace stayed steady, with neither side connecting. Including the end of the first quarter, UAlbany held Binghamton without a goal for over 13 minutes until Kocis scored on the catch and shoot from Deluca. Deluca added a score of his own, running into a double team while shooting and netting the ball, then Kocis put another in, running and getting by his defender for the shot. The score was 6-5 UAlbany at the end of the first half.
On the first possession of the third quarter, Thompson passed Oakes, running towards the cage, for the point blank score 56 seconds in. Binghamton followed with a long possession on offense, firing away and missing. On the fifth attempt, Kocis scored from the far side, and on the next chance, Johnny Maher scored inside the right post to tie the game. UAlbany got back on offense after a BU turnover. Following two missed shots, Oakes ran around his defender and scored in the upper right corner. Garziano added another after UAlbany forced a turnover on a BU clear, going against a defender for the shot and score. Less than a minute later, a catch and shoot goal from Thompson to Oakes added another goal. With 1:31 left, UAlbany moved in transition with Thompson passing to an open Garziano for the goal to complete the 4-0 run. Paul O’Donnell scored for BU in the final minute of the quarter to make it 11-8 UAlbany after three.
Each side exchanged possessions as numerous players shot wide for the first five-and-a-half minutes. O’Donnell broke the drought be running from behind the cage for the score. Riorden kept making saves to instigate UAlbany’s transition attack. At 11-9, Maloney picked up the loose ball from a scrum, passed behind to Fields, who scored while falling down next to the goal circle. Again after a Riorden save, UAlbany went in transition as Adam Osika drew two defenders, passing to a wide open Fields next to the cage for the goal. With 4:03 remaining, Thompson came from around the cage, fired a shot and scored just below the crossbar to score his 354th career point and put UAlbany up 14-9. Binghamton added a couple of goals to pull within three with 2:42 left. UAlbany got the ball to its offense, and with BU trying to force a turnover, Oakes went to the cage and scored, setting the eventual 15-11 final score.
UAlbany will play two games next week, starting with a road contest against Bryant on Tuesday, April 14th at 7 p.m.
