Did UAlbany Just Avoid It’s First Trap Game?

In UAlbany's first game ranked number one in the nation they got a test many of us weren't expecting. After taking down Syracuse in Syracuse 15-3 and Drexel here in Albany 18-5, it seemed like the Great Danes wouldn't be challenged again until they traveled to Maryland on March 10th. Cornell had other ideas.

Not only did Cornell lead the game 6 - 4 at the half, they also took a 9 - 7 early in the 4th quarter. Even though TD Ierlan won 24 of 24 face offs the Cornell Big Red just kept coming.Luckily Albany didn't panic and scored four unanswered times in the last 3:18 to take the 11-9 win at Tom & Mary Casey stadium.

These are the kind of games that slip away from teams that aren't coached well enough. That's clearly not the case so far with Scott Marr and the Albany Lacrosse teams. Even Interim Cornell head coach Pete Milliman said the following about the Great Danes to the Daily Gazette:

“They don’t really hide a whole lot of who they are. I don’t think it’s hard to figure out who Albany is,” Milliman said. “They’ve got some superstar players, they play tough defense, they protect their goal, they’re great in the middle of the field, they ride and clear and pick up ground balls. There’s not a lot of surprises there. They really challenge you to beat them at what they do best and that’s a tough thing to do.”

Let's hope the Great Danes continue to ride this wave and hold onto #1 for the whole year.