SECOND-RANKED UALBANY EDGES MASSACHUSETTS, 10-9 IN OVERTIME, TO STAY UNBEATEN

     Albany, N.Y. -- Merrick Thomson scored his only goal of the game 12 seconds into the overtime period to lead UAlbany to a 10-9 win over Massachusetts on Tuesday, March 13 at John Fallon Field. The Great Danes improved to 4-0 on the season, the first time the program has reached that mark to start a season since 1993, when UAlbany was a Division III program.
     UAlbany, ranked second in this week's USILA Coaches Poll, withstood a rally that saw Massachusetts come back from a 7-0 deficit. The Great Danes scored seven unanswered goals to open the game before Massachusetts could manage a tally. Senior Frank Resetarits scored three goals in that span, and assisted on Matthew Green's extra-man goal with 6:29 remaining that gave UAlbany the 7-0 lead.
     Massachusetts (1-3) scored two quick goals before halftime, a straight shot by freshman Bobby Hayes with 2:34 on the clock and senior Brett Garber's first tally of the day with 20 seconds remaining. UAlbany would return from the break and look to start the second half much like the first, as Brett Queener scored his first goal of the season on a man-up opportunity at 12:51of the third.
     The Minutemen began their comeback at 8:38, as Brett Garber and Tim Balise combined for five straight goals for Massachusetts. Garber bookended three straight from Balise, with the final tally in that streak coming at 12:27 of the fourth quarter.
     Resetarits added his fourth goal of the game off an assist by John Alpizar with just under ten minutes to play to give UAlbany a 9-7 lead. Massachusetts cut the deficit to one on a Jim Connolly goal with 3:05 on the clock. Connolly then tied the game at 9-all less than a minute later as his shot from the left side of the goal bounced in the net past Queener.
     UAlbany's Jordan Levine opened the overtime period by winning the faceoff and passing the ball downfield to Derek Dale. Dale connected to a streaking Thomson, who fired a shot past Massachusetts goalkeeper Doc Schneider to end the game.
     "We learned a lesson through a win that you can never relax," said UAlbany head coach Scott Marr, whose team recorded its fourth-straight victory over Massachusetts, each by a one-goal differential. "Their zone worked and forced outside shots. I give them credit for coming back. I was impressed with their character."
     UAlbany managed just two more shots than Massachusetts, 36-34, and won 13 of 23 faceoffs. Queener finished with 12 saves for the Great Danes, while Schneider stopped eight shots in the net for the Minutemen.
     "We had some good shots, but their goalkeeper came up big," said Thomson, who was named the America East Conference Player of the Week after a five-goal performance against Delaware. "It was kind of scary being up 7-0. But the fact that we were able to win despite losing that lead shows that we are developing into a good team."