C.W. Post Stops Danes at 14 Straight
The streak is over. Albany�s school-record 14 straight wins, the longest streak in Division II, came to a crashing halt last Saturday in a 24-16 Eastern Football Conference defeat to C.W. Post at University Field. Pioneer fullback John Carneglia (119 yards) and quarterback Pat Rock (2 TD tosses) helped Post hand Albany its first-ever loss in conference regular-season and post-season play.
"It starts and it ends somewhere," said UA senior captain Matt Caliandro. "They were a good team, and I�m not taking anything from them, but if we would have played like the other 14 games we won, we should have won this game."
Albany (3-1, EFC 1-1) took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Quarterback Eric Williams scored on a 2-yard run on the team�s first possession. Later, Deron Regev booted a 38-yard field goal.
C.W. Post (2-1, EFC 2-0), which avenged a 44-7 loss to the Great Danes at home a year ago, took advantage of a shanked punt to jump-start its first scoring march. Rock found tight end Derrick Darwood with a 13-yard TD pass to complete an 11-play drive with 8:00 left in the second quarter. The Pioneers had good field position again on its next drive, and need just four snaps to take a 14-10 lead, Rock finding Darwood all alone for a 30-yard score.
Post turned one of three Albany turnovers into a touchdown early in the third period. A bad pitch was recovered by linebacker Rich Renny, and four plays later wide receiver Eddie Hardaway reached the end zone on a 3-yard inside reverse for a 21-10 advantage.
Albany closed to 21-16 with 2:20 left in the third stanza, when reserve quarterback Michael Oliva tossed a 7-yard shovel pass to tailback Greg Garrett. The two-point conversion pass failed.
C.W. Post�s Tony Balcan kicked a 34-yard field goal to give his club an eight-point cushion, before the Albany offense sputtered on its final two possessions with both ending in miscues.
Albany will have until Oct. 10 to think about a new win streak when it travels to Merrimack (WROW - 590 AM).
Volleyball Wins Great Dane Invitational
Tashi Campbell-Tulloch and Jackie Sanchez earned all-tournament honors to lead Albany to a 15-11, 15-8, 13-15, 15-4 victory over Merrimack in the championship of the Great Dane Invitational last Saturday at University Gym.
Sanchez, a senior middle hitter, had 15 kills and three blocks, while Campbell-Tulloch added 14 kills and 19 digs in the championship. Sophomore outside hitter Julie Arbitman totaled 12 kills and 22 digs against Merrimack.
Albany (6-3) reached the final with victories against Assumption, St. Anselm and American International. Campbell-Tulloch�s 15-kill, 12-dig performance keyed the AIC decision.
Two in Tennis Go Far at Quinnipiac
Ilissa Strolovitz won the Flight B singles consolation, while Shanna Mogan reached the Flight B final at the Quinnipiac Open last Sunday. Strolovitz, a freshman, defeated Stony Brook�s Delquin Gong in an 8-5 pro-set for the consolation title. She earlier won an 8-4 match over Iona�s Megan Clarke in the semifinals.
Mogan lost to Linda Hemmes, of Fairleigh Dickinson, 6-1 and 6-1, in the Flight B championship, and made the final with a 6-4, 6-1 semifinal win against Connecticut�s Dori Keusch. In the doubles championship, Julie Bliss and Samantha Kramer dropped an 8-3 decision to Quinnipiac�s Stephanie Petrycki and Michelle Nagle.
Harrier Teams 2nd Twice at Williamstown
Andrea Viger finished third in the women�s race, and Ben Wright was seventh in the men�s event, as Albany placed second in both team competitions at the Williams Invitational on Sept. 26.
Viger, a junior, ran the 5,000-meter circuit in 20:01, while teammate Liz Hamilton took fifth in 20:16. Williams won the women�s event with 22 points, with Albany second at 68. Wright was clocked in 27:41 on the 5-mile Mt. Hope Farm course. Brendan Howell (15th), Jamie Rodriguez (17th), Todd Weiss (19th) and Mike Kiernan (20th) were all top-20 finishers. Williams earned the title with 23 points to outdistance runner-up Albany (78).
Men�s Soccer Wins 3rd Straight
Bryan Grabon scored twice in the first half as Albany won its third straight with a 5-0 victory over Sacred Heart in a New England Collegiate Conference match on Sept. 25 at Varsity Field. The Great Danes evened their overall record at 4-4.
Grabon ran on to Brandon McLaren�s backward pass, and sent a shot inside the far post to open the scoring at 11:21. Grabon, a sophomore striker, then teamed with McLaren again for his third goal of the season. McLaren, who had two assists, netted his first goal as a collegian at 64:18.
Two days earlier, Grabon scored the game-winner at 98:13 in overtime to lift his club to a 2-1 non-conference triumph against Lock Haven. His 18-yard blast beat charging goalkeeper Conor Fry.
Training, Soccer Staffers Hired
The Albany athletic department named Jeanna Cornetti assistant athletic trainer, Stephen Brendese graduate assistant athletic trainer, and Brad Utter assistant women�s soccer coach. Cornetti attended Cohoes High School, and has a B.S. in athletic training from Russell Sage College. Brendese, a Catholic Central H.S. graduate, is a native of Spiegeltown.