Scoring goals is not a problem for the University at Albany men’s lacrosse team, but the Great Danes don’t want some of their early-season blowouts to take away their competitive edge.
That’s why UAlbany’s 21-18 closely contested matchup with nationally ranked Harvard on Wednesday was a welcome change after back-to-back one-sided triumphs over Canisius (26-6) and Hartford (24-6).
Today’s first-ever matchup with UMass-Lowell at 3 p.m. on John Fallon Field could very well be another blowout, but UAlbany head coach Scott Marr and his players said they won’t look past any opponent, even with its yearly game at Syracuse coming up on April 2.
“We play to our own standards,” said Marr. “We don’t dip down our game against anyone, but we knew that the Harvard game would be very competitive. It was nice to get a game like that on our schedule. Now, we’ve beaten an Ivy League program as well as two Colonial Athletic Association teams. We still have a few more non-conference games left, but our focus will be on winning the America East Conference again.
“We have to continue to execute and play to our own standards against everyone, and those standards are very high,” said Marr.
UAlbany (6-1) is ranked ninth in the Inside Lacrosse media poll and 10th in the USILA
Coaches Poll. UMass-Lowell (1-7) will be trying to snap a four-game losing streak.
Lyle Thompson is the NCAA Division I scoring leader in points per game with 21 goals and 30 assists. The Great Danes produce a national-best 17.43 goals per game, with freshman Connor Fields and redshirt sophomore Seth Oakes adding 23 and 20 goals, respectively.
Thompson is also sneaking up on the all-time NCAA career points record. He’s currently fourth with 330 points, and trails former Cornell great Rob Pannell (354), former Duke standout Matt Danowski (353) and former Air Force star Joe Vesta (343). Thompson is also fourth all-time in assists with 186.
Sophomore midfielder Adam Osika said the Great Danes have very high expectations, but they don’t want to peak too soon.
“Personally, I was glad to play a strong opponent like Harvard after we had those two high-scoring games,” said Osika. “We’re trying to build up to the end of the year and then peak. Harvard is a very good team, and we had quite a high-scoring game with them. But we don’t take any team lightly.”
Categories: College Sports
