ALBANY, N.Y. – Returning to the road after finally hosting its 2020 home opener, the University at Albany women's lacrosse team visits Crosstown Rival Siena on Wednesday for the latest meeting between the Capital Region rivals.
 
Game Info
Wednesday, March 11 at Siena (3:00 p.m.)
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Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is 16-0 lifetime against Siena
• Georgia Schneidereith ranks second in the America East in save percentage
• UAlbany ranks second in the America East in scoring offense, and tied for second in scoring defense
• Siena ranks second nationally in fewest turnovers per game
• Siena is 3-0 at home this season

 
Scouting Siena
Siena arrives at the latest Crosstown Rivalry 3-3 overall, falling in two of their last three games.  Most recently, the Saints defeated Wagner at home, 11-8, but had previously fallen 11-10 at America East opponent Vermont.  Siena was picked third in the MAAC Preseason Poll, earning two first-place votes and landing four players on the Preseason All-Conference Team, including Kerry Gerety, Nicole McNeely, Therese Pitman, and Annie Brennan.  Gerety and McNeely shared the team lead in scoring, with 72 and 70 points, respectively.  In 16 meetings with UAlbany, the Great Danes are unbeaten against the Saints.
 
Last Time vs. Siena
UAlbany and Siena renewed their rivalry last season for the first time since 2012.  Playing at Casey Stadium, the Great Danes defeated the Saints 14-8.  The first half ended with a 6-6 tie, but UAlbany came out firing after halftime to outscore Siena 8-2 in the second half, including scoring each of the final seven.  Kyla Zapolski scored five goals, including four in the second half, while Sam Tortora scored three goals with one assist, and Hannah Newman also scored three goals.
 
Last Time Out
After three games on the road to open the season, the Great Danes finally hosted their home opener, defeating visiting Canisius 19-8.  Thirteen Great Danes scored in the game, including 10 scoring the team's 11 goals in the first half.  Ally Alliegro led UAlbany with three goals and two assists off the bench, while Kyla Zapolski scored three times and Sam Tortora scored twice with one assist.
 
Around the America East
UAlbany has moved into sole possession of second place in the America East at 2-2 overall, behind 4-1 Stony Brook.  The Seawolves have climbed to fifth in the national poll behind victories over Syracuse, Ohio State, Towson, and Princeton.  Vermont is currently third, followed by UMBC and UMass Lowell.  Binghamton, New Hampshire, and Hartford round out the standings.
 
Wednesday's America East Games

• Vermont at Kennesaw St., 12:30 p.m.
• UAlbany at Siena, 3:00 p.m.
• New Hampshire at Harvard, 4:00 p.m.
• UMBC at Drexel, 4:00 p.m.
• Colgate at Binghamton, 4:00 p.m.

 
Sharing the Wealth
UAlbany scored 19 goals in their home opener against Canisius.  Thirteen different players scored at least once.  In the first half, UAlbany saw its 11 goals accounted for by 10 separate players.
 
Home Cooking
The Great Danes defeated Canisius in their 2020 home opener.  Since moving to Division I ahead of the 2000 season, UAlbany is now 17-4 in home openers.  The Great Danes went 7-1 at Casey Stadium in 2019, with the lone loss coming against #22 Stanford, who would go on to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
 
Player of the Week II
Following a six-point performance at #14 Michigan, midfielder Sam Tortora was named America East Offensive Player of the Week.  Tortora scored four goals, all unassisted, and recorded two assists, contributing to six of UAlbany's 11 goals against the Wolverines.  It was the first time in her career that Tortora was named Offensive Player of the Week.
 
Players of the Week
Following their come-from-behind victory at Yale, the America East bestowed UAlbany with two weekly awards.  Hailey Carroll was named Offensive Player of the Week and Georgia Schneidereith was named Defensive Player of the Week.  Carroll led UAlbany with five goals against the Bulldogs, all five of which came in the second half.  Schneidereith recorded a career-high 14 saves in net, allowing just one goal in the second half.  For both Carroll and Schneidereith, it was the first such weekly honor of their respective careers.
 
Schedule Strength
UAlbany once again faces a formidable schedule in 2020.  Three of the Danes' 16 regular-season opponents earned national preseason rankings, including #8 Michigan, #12 Stony Brook, and #4 Syracuse, head coach Katie Rowan Thomson's alma mater, against whom UAlbany will play its season-opener.
 
Mainstays
The UAlbany women's lacrosse team has made nine-straight trips to the America East title game, winning the conference tournament in 2011 and 2012.  For each of the last eight, the Great Danes have met Stony Brook in the final.
 
Full Cupboard
The 2020 Great Danes return 32 of 33 players from the 2019 roster, including the entire starting roster and all 13 America East All-Conference selections from a year ago.  Among the returners are 2020 America East Offensive Player of the Year Madison Conway, 2020 America East Rookie of the Year Hailey Carroll, and 2019 America East Rookie of the Year Kendra Harbinger.  Additionally, the Great Danes bring back Sam Tortora, who is the program's record-holder for career assists, as well as 2019 All-Conference First Team selections Imani Hedgeman, Jordyn Marr, and Kyla Zapolski.  In total, UAlbany returns all but five goals from last year's offense, while adding eight new freshmen to the roster.
 
Picked Second
For the eighth-straight season, UAlbany was picked to finish second in the America East Preseason Coaches' poll.  The Danes pulled in 42 total points and one first-place vote, falling in seven points behind defending conference champion Stony Brook, who was picked unanimously for the eighth-straight season.
 
Haudenosaunee International
The UAlbany coaching staff spent two stints with the Haudenosaunee national program in the summer and fall of 2019, first with the U-19 team and next with the senior national squad.  Head coach Katie Rowan Thomson and assistant coaches Taylor Frink and Leah Gallagher served as assistant coaches under Ronnie Davis, the former head coach of Monroe Community College, on the sidelines for Haudenosaunee in the U19 World Championships.  Haudenosaunee placed ninth overall, earning victories over Belgium, Israel, Mexico, and Hong Kong.  Later in the fall, Rowan Thomson and Gallagher once again found themselves on the Haudenosaunee sidelines, this time for the senior national team at the inaugural Pan-American Lacrosse World Qualifiers, presiding over a roster that included Frink on the attack.  Rowan Thomson and her assistants led Haudenosaunee to the gold medal, defeating Columbia, Jamaica, Mexico, and finally Puerto Rico in the championship game.  Frink played in all four games, scoring five goals with seven assists, finishing as the seventh-leading scorer in the tournament.  The World Women's Lacrosse Championships take place in July, 2021.
 
WPLL
For the second season, head coach Katie Rowan Thomson helmed the Pride of the Women's Professional Lacrosse League.  Joining Rowan Thomson on the sidelines was assistant coach Taylor Frink.  Rowan Thomson led the Pride to the WPLL semifinals against the Brave, bringing into the game the league's co-leading team in scoring.  The Pride and the Brave further combined to field three of the four players who shared the lead league in individual scoring.  The Brave defeated the Pride 15-10 to advance to the WPLL championship game against the Flight, ultimately claiming the league championship.
 
PLL in Albany
In its inaugural season, Premier Lacrosse League hosted one of its weekends of competition at Casey Stadium on UAlbany's campus.  The league announced on April 22, 2019 that UAlbany would serve as a host site on August 24-25.  Among the players in the PLL were a eight former Great Danes, including Miles Thompson, Ty Thompson, Connor Fields, Kyle McClancey, and Blaze Riorden.  The first of three games in Albany the Atlas vs. the Chaos, was played in front of a sellout crowd of 6,472 fans, and saw Chaos starts Myles Thompson score twice, Troy Rey, McClancey, and Fields score once, and Riorden record 13 saves.
 
2019 in Review
The Great Danes debuted a new head coach in 2019 in former assistant Katie Rowan, who returned to UAlbany after a three-year stint as head coach at Wagner College.  Under Rowan's guidance, UAlbany finished 11-7 overall and earned a spot in their ninth-straight America East title game.  The Danes' 2019 schedule featured four ranked opponents, including Rowan's alma mater Syracuse, as well as #1 Boston College.
 
Decade Recap
UAlbany finished the 2010s 126-51 overall, making nine trips to the America East title game, winning two America East championships, and qualifying for four NCAA Tournaments.  In 2011, the Danes won a program-record 18 games, including the program's first NCAA Tournament victory, over Dartmouth in the First Round.  In each of the last seven seasons, UAlbany has suffered just one regular-season conference defeat.
 
Next
UAlbany returns to Casey Stadium on Sunday to host #7 Dartmouth at 12:00 p.m.