UAlbany men’s lacrosse returns to the peak of the America East

ALBANY, N.Y. ( NEWS10 ) — For the 10th time in program history, the America East men’s lacrosse tournament title belongs to the University at Albany. The Great Danes took down archrival Vermont, the No. 2 seed, in a 12-11 contest at Casey Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Jake Piseno was named the Championship’s Most Outstanding Player, also earning a spot on the All-Championship Team. Joining him on the All-Championship team were teammates Graydon Hogg , Max Neeson , and Silas Richmond .

Key Stat Lines

• Piseno had an outstanding game with the long pole, scoring two goals and leading the team with five ground balls and four caused turnovers.
• Richmond found the back of the net five times, adding a helper, to lead the team with five points.
• Hogg followed with two goals and two helpers for four points, adding three ground balls and a caused turnover.
• Freshman keeper Landon Whitney made eight saves in net to collect the win.

Head Coach Scott Marr : “I’m just so proud. I’ve been so fortunate in my life to be around so many good people and so many good players. This was a special win, this was just like the 2013 win where we hadn’t won in six years. Freshman goalie, some young guys on offense… It had that kind of feel all year, we were determined to get to this game… Just so proud of their work ethic every day.”

How it Happened:

• The first goal of the game was scored via Jake Piseno’s Long pole, his 12 ^th of the season. Piseno took a feed from Silas Richmond , scoring with the big stick in the crease.
• Vermont scored the next two goals, prompting the Great Danes to take a timeout with 6:05 remaining in the first. Finn O’Hara scored the first, Charlie Pope scored the second.
• Vermont’s Griffin Fenech made it 3-1 with 56 seconds remaining in the first on a bounce shot.
• Fenech scored his second of the day one minute into the second to push the Vermont lead to 4-3.
• Back-to-back goals from Silas Richmond cut Vermont’s lead to one goal, 4-3. He first scored on a clean feed in front of the net from Graydon Hogg , then he beat his defender 1v1 minutes later to get his second of the afternoon.
• Vermont’s Brock Haley recorded his first of the day with 8:30 on the clock, making it 5-3. Two minutes later, Harrison Josloff made it a three-goal game again, 6-3.
• Another two goals got the Great Danes back to within striking distance. Ryan Doherty first scored after scooping up a rebound, and Richmond finished his second quarter hat trick on a shot from the point for his 40 ^th of the year, making it 6-5.
• With less than 10 seconds remaining in the first half, UAlbany’s Graydon Hogg intercepted a failed clear from Vermont, taking it all the way to the goal himself to tie the game at 6-6 with three seconds on the clock.
• UAlbany went 7-13 at the X and finished with 10 turnovers in the first half. Vermont went 6-13 at the X and also had 10 turnovers.
• Jake Piseno unloaded a missile to score the first goal of the second half, his second goal of the game.
• “Famous” Amos Whitcomb made it 8-6 in favor of the Great Danes shortly after, muscling his way through multiple defenders for his first of the game.
• Silas Richmond scored his fourth of the game, UAlbany’s sixth straight, with 3:33 remaining in the third. Jake Piseno recorded a caused turnover and ran the ball into Vermont territory, dumping it to Graydon Hogg who fed Richmond for a jump-shot goal, 9-6.
• The Catamounts shifted the momentum by scoring two goals within a minute of each other to bring it to 9-8. Brock Haley scored while a man up, Fenech scored his third of the game shortly after.
• Alex Pfeiffer got in on the scoring action, sending one to the back of the net just over a minute into the fourth, 10-8.
• Vermont responded with a goal from Max Frattaroli four minutes later to bring it back within one. The Catamounts tied it just seconds later on a long pole goal from Jack Combs.
• Graydon Hogg put the Great Danes ahead with 6:07 on the clock. Daniel Kesselring made it a two-score game, 12-10, with 4:25 remaining. Vermont’s Brock Haley found the back of the net with 14 seconds remaining, but it was not enough to complete a comeback.

Next: The Great Danes will look ahead to the NCAA Selection Show tomorrow night at 9:30 p.m. The show will air live on ESPN2.

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