UAlbany Men's Lacrosse Back Home to Take on Vermont on Saturday, 3 p.m.
UAlbany Game Notes
Watch Live on AmericaEast.tv | Live Stats
ALBANY, N.Y. – The UAlbany men's lacrosse team is seeking its 20th straight victory in America East play and fifth consecutive win, hosting Vermont at John Fallon Field on Saturday, April 9th at 3 p.m.
This game is also a You Can Play day in support of the You Can Play Project. The You Can Play Project, which is a working partner of the America East Conference, works to insure the safety and inclusion of all in sports, including LGBT athletes, coaches and fans.
Tickets for the game are $8 for adults and $5 for seniors and youth. The game will be broadcast online for free on AmericaEast.tv.
UAlbany stands as the only undefeated team in America East play at 3-0, a game ahead of Stony Brook and Hartford, after a 16-9 road victory over UMass Lowell last weekend, standing 7-2 overall. Vermont fell to Stony Brook 13-10 last weekend on the road and is tied with Binghamton for fourth place in the league at 1-1, holding a 5-6 overall tally.
UAlbany rose up to #6 in the USILA Coaches Poll and to #7 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll this week. Vermont is not ranked in either poll.
UAlbany is on a four-game winning streak against Vermont, defeating the Catamounts 20-10 in Burlington on April 4, 2015. The Great Danes lead the all-time series 13-3, taking all but one game since 2002.
THREE GREAT DANES PLACED ON TEWAARATON WATCH LIST: UAlbany attack Connor Fields and goalkeeper Blaze Riorden were added to the Tewaaraton Watch List on March 17th, while Seth Oakes was placed on the list on April 8th.
This marks the 10th straight year that UAlbany has had at least one player on the watch list.
The list will be shortened to 25 players on April 28th and to five on May 12th. The trophy will be awarded in Washington D.C. on June 2nd.
UALBANY - LONGEST CONFERENCE WINNING STREAK IN DI: With three consecutive undefeated regular seasons, UAlbany has the longest active winning streak in conference games with 19.
UAlbany is the only DI team to go undefeated in league play in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Three schools, UAlbany, Denver and Saint Joseph's, had undefeated conference regular seasons in 2014 and 2015.
UAlbany has won its last 25 games against America East opponents. The last regular season loss came on April 28, 2012 in a 12-11 home defeat to Stony Brook. UAlbany last lost to a conference opponent in the America East title game at Stony Brook on May 5, 2012 in a 14-8 defeat.
Active Conference Winning Streak (games as of 4/8/16)
1 - UAlbany, 19 (America East 2013-16)
2 - Saint Joseph's, 15 (NEC 2014-16)
3 - Denver, 12 (Big East 2014-16)
100-POINT WATCH: UAlbany came into 2016 without a career 100-point scorer. Connor Fields surpassed the 100-point mark on March 8th while John Maloney earned his 100th point on April 2nd.
--Connor Fields, So. A: 127 (90 G, 37 A)
--John Maloney, Sr. M: 101 (67 G, 34 A)
--Seth Oakes, R-Jr. A: 97 (78 G, 19 A)
--Bennett Drake, Jr. A/M: 56 (38 G, 18 A)
A couple of others are approaching the 50-point mark.
--Justin Reh, So. A: 45 (18 G, 27 A)
--Derrick Eccles, R-Sr. M: 41 (26 G, 15 A)
SCOUTING THE UALBANY GREAT DANES: Ranking 10th in scoring offense in DI at 13.00 goals per game, UAlbany, through nine games, has five players with at least 18 points.
Connor Fields is the team's leader in assists with 15, adding 24 goals for 39 points. Seth Oakes is the team's leading goal scorer with 24, adding seven assists for 31 points. Justin Reh rounds out the attack corps with 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points. In the midfield unit, John Maloney has 18 points off 11 goals and seven assists, adding 24 ground balls. Bennett Drake has nine goals and nine assists for 18 points. Zach Ornstein has won 49.7% of faceoffs for UAlbany.
Blaze Riorden has had a strong start to the 2016 season, allowing 9.35 goals per game and saving 58.9% of shots. The senior stands third in Division I with 13.33 saves per game. Junior James Burdette serves as a co-captain with Riorden on defense, standing with 11 ground balls and four caused turnovers.
SCOUTING THE VERMONT CATAMOUNTS: Vermont was third in the league in 2015 with America East Coach of the Year Ryan Curtis at the helm.
Averaging 4.27 points per game, second in the league, junior midfielder Ian MacKay has 29 goals and 18 assists, leading an offense that averages just over 12 goals a game. Junior attack Cam Milligan leads the team with 21 assists, adding 15 goals.
Junior Jon Kaplan is the primary player in goal, allowing 10.32 goals per game and saving 52.4% of shots. Sophomore James Leary stands at close defense with 32 ground balls and a team-best 14 caused turnovers. Junior Luc LeBlanc has taken almost 70% of the faceoffs, winning 59.3% at the X.
