ALBANY, N.Y. – UAlbany continues its three-game road swing this weekend with a trip to #7 Maryland.
 
Game Info
Saturday, March 7 at #7 Maryland (1:00 p.m.)
Live Stats | BTN+
 
Leading the Pack

• Tehoka Nanticoke and Jakob Patterson have connected on seven goals in the last two games
• Patterson ranks 12th nationally in assists per game
• Nanticoke ranks 13th nationally in points per game and 16th in goals per game
• UAlbany ranks eighth nationally in assists per game and 18th in points per game
• Maryland ranks seventh nationally in assists per game and eighth in points per game
• Maryland's Logan Wisnauskas ranks ninth nationally in points per game and 10th in goals per game

 
Scouting Maryland
Maryland is the seventh-ranked team in the country and arrives at Saturday's game 4-1 on the season.  The Terrapins most recently defeated then-#5 Notre Dame at home, 14-9, after seeing their game against Navy the week before postponed.  Maryland leads the Big Ten in points per game, and ranks second in overall scoring offense, ranking eighth and 11th nationally in each respective category.  Maryland holds a 4-1 series lead over UAlbany, with the Danes' lone victory coming in 2018, 11-10 in College Park. 
 
Last Time vs. Maryland
Maryland visited UAlbany last year as the seventh-ranked team in the country.  The Terrapins defeated the Great Danes for the fourth time in five tries, 14-9, dropping UAlbany's early-season record to 1-4.  Highlighting UAlbany's performance was Mitch Laffin, who recorded a hat trick over a 3:45 span in the fourth quarter.  Maryland led 7-2 at the break before UAlbany rebounded to score seven in the second half, but Maryland kept their advantage intact, despite allowing the Danes within two mid-way through the third quarter, and again early in and mid-way through the fourth.  The Terrapins scored the last three goals to clinch the five-goal victory.
 
Last Time Out
After playing its first three games at home, UAlbany hit the road for the first time this season to visit their longest-running rival, UMass, who entered the game ranked 15th nationally.  UAlbany scored the first two goals of the game before the Minutemen rolled off each of the next four, ultimately taking a one-goal, 6-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.  An even second quarter saw UMass maintain its narrow lead at the break.  The Minutemen did not pull away until the fourth quarter, outscoring UAlbany 4-0 until Ron John found the back of the net with 12 seconds to go.  UMass went on to win 17-12.  Tehoka Nanticoke scored five goals for the second-straight game, and Jakob Patterson recorded four assists.
 
Around the America East
Stony Brook leads the America East at 5-1, having won each of its last four, including its most recent victory, in overtime at Sacred Heart earlier this week.  Behind the Seawolves, UMBC, defending conference champion, is second at 3-1, followed by Vermont at 2-1.  UAlbany sits in fourth at 2-2, followed by Hartford and UMass Lowell at 2-4 each, and Binghamton at 1-4.  America East schools went 4-1 last weekend, and 3-2 in mid-week games this week.
 
Saturday's America East Games

• Hartford at Wagner, 12:00 p.m.
• High Point at UMBC, 12:00 p.m.
• UMass Lowell at Merrimack, 1:00 p.m.
• Stony Brook at Bryant, 1:00 p.m.
• Dartmouth at Vermont, 1:00 p.m.
• Binghamton at Hobart, 1:00 p.m.
• UAlbany at #7 Maryland, 1:00 p.m.

 
Player of the Week
Tehoka Nanticoke earned his first America East Offensive Player of the Week Award of the season following his eight-point performace in victory over Harvard on February 29.  Nanticoke scored five goals to go along with three assists, matching his single-game highs in both points and goals.  During the game, Nantickoke and teammate Jakob Patterson combined for five of UAlbany's 15 goals.
 
Hogg Wild
After his first-ever game in a Great Dane uniform, UAlbany freshman Graydon Hogg was named America East Rookie of the Week.  Hogg scored two goals in the season opener against #12 Cornell, while also recording two assists, winning two ground balls, and causing two turnovers.
 
America East Success
UAlbany is looking for its 10th conference championship. The Great Danes have won three of the past five titles, including two of the past three. UAlbany has a 34-5 regular-season record in the league dating back to the 2013 season, and the Great Danes haven't lost a regular-season home game to an America East opponent since April 28, 2012 (Stony Brook, 12-11).
 
Schedule Strength
Once again, UAlbany features one of the toughest schedules in the country.  The 2020 schedule includes five teams ranked in the preseason top-20, including three in the top five, and four in the top-11.  Highlighting the schedule are trips to preseason #3 Yale and #4 Maryland, as well as the home opener against preseason #11 Cornell, and, for the first time in history, a home game against preseason #5 Syracuse.
 
Picked Third
For the first time in eight years, UAlbany was not picked as the favorite in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, landing instead in third behind 2019 runner-up Vermont and champion UMBC, who were picked first and second, respectively.  The Great Danes had been picked first in each of the previous seven editions of the preseason poll.  This year, UAlbany drew 28 points and one first place vote, narrowly behind favorite Vermont (31 points, two first-place votes), and projected runner-up UMBC (30 points, three first-place votes).  Defending regular-season champion Stony Brook was picked fourth, drawing 24 points and the final first-place vote.
 
Preseason Accolades
Senior attack Jakob Patterson, reigning America East Offensive Player of the Year, was selected as the America East Preseason Player of the Year by Inside Lacrosse.  Patterson scored 25 goals and recorded 32 assists in 2019 to lead the team with 57 total points.  He was joined as a Preseason All-Conference selection by junior Alex Burgmaster, who scored twice with two assists and 11 ground balls in 12 games for the Great Danes last year.
 
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.
 
Great Danes in the NLL
UAlbany is well-represented in the NLL this season:
 
•           Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm
•           Miles Thompson, Georgia Swarm
•           Blaze Riorden, Philadelphia Wings
•           Joe Resetarits, Rochester Knighthawks
•           Corey Small, Buffalo Bandits
•           Dave Brock, New England Black Wolves
•           Connor Fields, San Diego Seals
 
The NLL is the largest professional indoor lacrosse league in
North America, with seven teams in the United States and four in
Canada. UAlbany has been well-represented in the league. At least
one former Great Dane has been chosen in the league's draft every
year since 2012.
 
Honoring the Thompsons
Lyle and Miles Thompson, two of the most decorated men's lacrosse players in University at Albany history, were honored in the "People of New York" exhibit that opened Thursday, February 14, 2019 in the State Capitol building.  The exhibit, whose opening was announced by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, "features the people of New York - past and present - and their firsthand accounts of perseverance and migration."  "The First Peoples" portion of the exhibit includes life-size cutouts of the Thompson brothers, and accompanying text details their achievements for UAlbany. In the images, they're wearing uniforms of the Georgia Swarm, the National Lacrosse League franchise for which they now play.  Born in Onondaga Nation, near Syracuse, N.Y., Lyle and Miles became two of the most celebrated lacrosse players in the world while at UAlbany. Lyle was the first male recipient of the Tewaaraton Award in consecutive seasons, and he set new NCAA Division I records for career points (400) and assists (225). As a senior at UAlbany, Miles was the co-recipient of the Tewaaraton Award with his brother and set a NCAA Division I record for most single season goals (82).  They both were drafted by the Swarm, Miles as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NLL Draft and Lyle as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NLL Draft. In 2017, the tandem was instrumental in the Swarm winning its first world championship.
 
2019 in Review
One year following their historic run to the NCAA Final Four, the Great Danes had to replace all-time players in Connor Fields, who graduated, and TD Ierlan, who transferred to Yale.  The Danes' schedule featured five teams ranked in the top 20, including Maryland, Syracuse, Cornell, UMass, and defending NCAA champion Yale.  After tying a program record with 16 victories, the team took a step back, finishing 2019 with a record of 5-9, and exiting the America East Tournament in the semifinal round.  Jakob Patterson was named America East Offensive Player of the Year, and led the team with 57 points on 25 goals and 32 assists.  Patterson led a total of four Great Danes on the America East First Team, joining Tehoka Nanticoke, Matt Perla, and Jack Burgmaster.  On the Second Team, UAlbany landed Sean Eccles and Erik Dluhy.
 
Decade Recap
Since 2009-10, the University at Albany men's lacrosse program posted an overall record of 104-65.  The Great Danes won five America East titles in six years starting in 2013, the year that saw the team take a big leap forward, improving on their 2012 record by a total of seven wins.  In two seasons, UAlbany won a program-high 16 games, including a run to the NCAA Final Four in 2018.  The Great Danes saw Miles and Lyle Thompson become the first co-recipients of the Tewaarton Trophy in 2014, and Lyle become the first men's back-to-back winner in 2015.  Lyle graduated the program as the NCAA record-holder for career points with 400, scoring 175 goals with 225 assists in his four years.  Together, Lyle and Miles hold three of the top four single-season points performances in NCAA history.  In addition to the Thompsons, whose careers overlapped with their cousin Ty, Connor Fields, who graduated in 2018, ranks fourth in NCAA history in career points.
 
Next: UAlbany concludes its three-game road swing on Saturday, March 14 at UMass Lowell to open America East play.