Owings Mills, Md. - Senior midfielder Kayla Best scored three times, including the go-ahead goal in the second half, as UAlbany edged Denver, 11-10, in a neutral-site, non-conference matchup on Sunday, March 28 at Garrison Forest School just outside of Baltimore. The Great Danes have put together a six-game win streak.
     In the first-ever meeting between the programs, Denver (7-4) erased a 6-5 deficit early in the second half on consecutive goals by Lexi Sanders, the second-leading scorer in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The senior midfielder put her team ahead after freshman midfielder Alex Befus caused a turnover near midfield.
     UAlbany (6-1) tied the contest on Christine Grueniger's third goal of the game, before the Pioneers regained the lead with 17:24 to play. Kara Secora, who totaled three goals and three assists, took a pass from Sanders following a turnover for an 8-7 advantage.
     The Great Danes responded by scoring three consecutive times. Nikki Branchini made the game even for the fourth time at eight apiece when she dodged a defender from the left side. Best put her team ahead for good with two goals in a one-minute-and-46-second span. She connected on a drive from the left by hitting the top far corner and then sent a free-position shot low into the net with 9:51 remaining.
     The Pioneers, who were coming off an eight-goal win over George Mason on Friday, closed the gap to 10-9 when junior midfielder Tulley Stapp fired a free-position attempt into the left corner. But UAlbany's Mel Rorie answered less than one minute later by eluding two defenders and placing a low shot into the cage. Stapp added her third goal with 1:21 to play after Secora collected a ground ball and fed her with a right-to-left pass. The Great Danes were able to maintain possession the rest of the way.
     "We made big stops of defense, got key groundballs, and made shots when we needed them," offered Best, whose teammate Ashley Ross had a career-high 12 saves in goal. "The huge stop she (Ross) had with the ball behind the net kept us positive late in the game."
     In the first half, UAlbany raced to a 5-1 lead in the opening 13 minutes. Melanie Sosnowski picked up a ground ball and scored for a 3-0 advantage after teammate Taylor Frink hit the post with a shot. Grueniger and Best later converted free-position attempts two minutes and 27 seconds apart.
     Denver rallied behind the play of Secora, a sophomore attack who now has 20 goals on the season. She set up Stapp to ignite a run of four unanswered. The Pioneers drew even at five apiece just before halftime. Lauren Ciccomascolo connected on a free-position opportunity, before Secora followed eight seconds later after Sanders won the subsequent draw.
     "The goal was to start strong and set the tone early," said UAlbany coach Lindsey Hart, whose team will take its longest winning streak as a Division I program into Wednesday's America East Conference opener at Vermont. "We did, then leveled off, and had to regroup at halftime. Denver is a tough team that has played several close games. We just made some really good plays at really good times."

Paw Prints:  UAlbany is off to its best start as a Division I program with a 6-1 record ... Kayla Best has scored at least one goal in 53 consecutive games ... Christine Grueniger netted three or more goals for the 13th time in her career ... Ashley Ross has made double-figure saves three times this season ... UAlbany played a neutral-site, regular-season game for the first time since April 3, 2004 ... the Great Danes will host California, another Mountain Pacific Sports Federation program, on April 16.

UAlbany 11, Denver 10 (Mar 28, 2010, Garrison Forest School, Owings Mills, Md.)