A Winning Weekend

Men’s Lacrosse Advances in NCAA Tournament, Softball Wins America East

ALBANY, N.Y. (May 15, 2017) – From a record-breaking turnout at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium to UAlbany’s 100th Division I America East Conference Championship, this past weekend was one to remember.

Men’s Lacrosse:

An NCAA First Round record 6,472 fans watched the UAlbany men’s lacrosse team defeat North Carolina, 15-12, in the pouring rain at Casey Stadium on Saturday night.

After giving up the first goal, UAlbany (15-2) scored 12 of the next 13 goals, and 14 of the next 16, to build an 11-goal lead at halftime. North Carolina (8-8) came roaring back with a 9-0 run into the fourth quarter to pull within two. UAlbany called timeout and held the Tar Heels scoreless in the final 10:11 of the game to take the victory.

Senior Bennett Drake had a team-high five goals, adding two ground balls. Freshman TD Ierlan took all of UAlbany's faceoffs, winning 23-of-30 with 11 ground balls. Redshirt junior JD Colarusso notched the victory in goals with 13 saves and four ground balls.

“That is quite possibly the best athletic event I've ever been a part of, 17 years in the making with the stadium, community, students, it was surreal at times,” said UAlbany head coach Scott Marr. “I am so proud of my guys for navigating through some adversity in the third period and sticking with it in the fourth period and getting it done.”

The victory advances UAlbany to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the third time in four seasons. The Great Danes will take on No. 1 seed Maryland on Sunday, May 20, at 2:30 p.m. at Delaware Stadium in Newerk. It will a rematch of April’s thriller, a narrow 12-11 victory by the Terps.

Sunday’s game will be nationally televised on ESPN 2. View the 2017 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament Bracket here. 

UAlbany’s softball team took home the program’s sixth America East title on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of UAlbany Athletics)

Softball:

UAlbany’s softball team took home the program’s sixth America East title on Sunday. The championship is the University’s 100th Division I conference title.

Coming out of the winner's bracket, UAlbany fell to Maine in the first game 2-0, and then came back to claim the title 6-1 in the second.

"I am so proud of this team and how far we have come. It was a long week with a lot of pressure packed games and this group of kids stayed tough and answered the ball every time we needed them to. We got great pitching all week long, and some huge clutch hits from so many different kids in the lineup," said head coach Chris Cannata.

Sophomore Sarah Petzold, senior Liz Snow, sophomore Chelsea Henige, and junior Devin Durando were named to the America East All-Tournament Team. Durando, a pitcher, was named the America East Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. She allowed only one run in the second game, striking out two batters.

With this win, the Great Danes earned an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament regionals, and will travel to play Alabama on Friday, May 19 at 5 p.m. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

View the 2017 NCAA Softball Tournament Bracket here.

Women’s Lacrosse and Track & Field:

The UAlbany women’s lacrosse team fell to Northwestern, 15-7, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Stony Brook on Friday night.

The Great Danes’ senior class finished their careers going a combined 51-20, including an America East regular season title, four conference title game appearances and the program's first two at-large bids into the NCAA Tournament.

UAlbany’s track & field program visited Princeton University for IC4A and ECAC Outdoor Championships over the weekend. Both the men and women earned top-10 finishes. The men were fifth; the women 10th.

Next, those who have qualified will continue to the NCAA East Preliminary Championships, which will take place at the University of Kentucky starting on Thursday, May 25. 

For more news, subscribe to UAlbany's RSS headline feeds