by ALBANY, N.Y. – For the third-straight year, Albany is the America East men’s lacrosse champion. The top-seeded Great Danes scored a title game record 22 goals in a 22-9 win over second-seeded Stony Brook in front of 2,146 fans at Bob Ford Field Saturday.
Three-time America East Player of the Year Lyle Thompson set the tone early, tallying all five of his goals in the first half en route to earning the championship’s Most Outstanding Player award for the second time. He totaled 15 points on 10 goals and five assists in Albany’s two tournament games.
The Great Danes, the seventh-ranked team in the country, advance to the NCAA tournament to the seventh time with the win and will learn their NCAA draw during the selection show on Sunday night at 9 p.m. on ESPNU. Last season, Albany reached the quarterfinal round before falling in overtime to Notre Dame.
On Saturday, Stony Brook (13-4), who’s ranked 17th in one national poll and 16th in the other, jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals by Alex Corpolongo and Brody Eastwood.
Albany (15-2) countered with four-straight goals, including three from Thompson and led 4-2 with 1:02 left in the first quarter. Ryan Bitzer gained some momentum for the Seawolves with a goal with just 15 seconds left in the first, but Adam Osika took it right back for Albany, streaking down the field after picked up a ground ball and blasting a left-handed shot into the back of the cage give Albany a 5-3 lead after one.
The Great Danes, who had 10 different players score goals in the game, kept the momentum early in the second quarter, scoring the first three goals of the frame, including two more by Thompson, the reigning Co-Tewaaraton Award winner and a nominee again this year. After scores by Jeff Reh and Challen Rogers, a first-team all-conference selection, Tim Cox scored for Albany with 5:42 left, giving the Great Danes a 9-5 advantage at halftime.
Winners of 21 straight games against America East foes, Albany took control in the third quarter, scoring the first four goals of the quarter. Connor Fields, the America East Rookie of the Year, scored the second of his three goals with 9:09 left to put Albany up 13-5.
Stony Brook, whose 13 wins match their program record, tallied three of the next five goals to narrow the deficit to 16-8 entering the fourth quarter. But the Great Danes, the top scoring team in the country, scored seven of the eight fourth quarter goals to win by a 13-goal margin.
Blaze Riorden, a first-team all-conference goalkeeper, finished with nine saves for Albany while Hayden Johnstone made 11 for Stony Brook.
A key to the Albany win was its face off dominance. The Great Danes won 20-of-33 draws, all by Cason Liles, who earned All-Championship team honors. Joining Liles and Thompson as All-Championship selections were teammates Riorden and Mike Russell, Stony Brook’s Mike Rooney, the top point-getter in the country, Dylan Curry and Lucas Rock, Hartford’s Kevin Sanna and Ryan Vanderford and Vermont’s Ian MacKay and Cam Milligan.
Stony Brook’s Bradley Garcia earned the conference’s Elite 18 Award for men’s lacrosse for having the highest GPA among participating student-athletes in the championship game.
