ALBANY, N.Y. – After opening the season with three games on the road, the University at Albany women's lacrosse team finally plays its home opener this Saturday, meeting Canisius for the first time since 2011.
 
Game Info
Saturday, March 7 vs. Canisius (12:00 p.m.)
Live Stats | AE.tv
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany ranks second in the America East in save percentage and 30th nationally
• Georgia Schneidereith leads the America in save percentage and ranks 20th nationally
• Sam Tortora ranks third in the America East in assists per game
• Canisius' Miranda Malvaso leads the MAAC in shot percentage and ranks third in points per game
• UAlbany went 7-1 at home last season, and 16-4 in home openers since the 2000 season

 
Scouting Canisius
Canisius enters Saturday's game winless in four opportunities on the season, and playing their fourth road game of the early season.  The Golden Griffins share one common opponent with UAlbany so far, falling in their opener against then #4 Syracuse 21-6.  Canisius was scheduled to play St. Bonaventure on February 28 but winter weather conditions forced the game to be rescheduled to March 11.  Canisius went 3-15 in 2019, including 2-6 in the MAAC, before getting eliminated by Siena in the MAAC Tournament quarterfinal round.  Returning to the Golden Griffins this year is 2019 MAAC Second-Team defender Riley Lucarelli.
 
Last Time vs. Canisius
UAlbany has played Canisius just twice in program history, and not since the 2011 season.  In the latest game, in Buffalo, N.Y., UAlbany won 14-8.  Jodi Battaglia scored five goals, including four in the first half, while Allie Phelan added four goals.  Current UAlbany assistant coach Taylor Frink scored one goal with one assist.  The Great Danes' victory snapped an eight-game home winning streak for the Golden Griffins.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes played their third-straight game on the road to open the season, against their second ranked opponent of the year, in visiting Michigan for the first time in program history.  The Wolverines opened up the game on a 6-0 run, but UAlbany recovered to outscore Michigan 11-6 over the final 41:41 of the game.  Despite outscoring the Wolverines over the majority of the game, the Great Danes' comeback attempt fell just short, and Michigan held on to win 12-11.  Sam Tortora scored four goals and recorded two assists, while in goal, Georgia Schneidereith recorded 13 saves, one week after recording a career-high 14 at Yale.
 
Around the America East
Stony Brook remains in first place in the conference standings, despite dropping their first game of the season last weekend at then-#8 Florida.  America East teams went winless that day, with UAlbany falling at then-#14 Michigan, Binghamton falling at Marist, and Hartford falling at Holy Cross.  The losing streak continued through Wednesday when Vermont narrowly defeated Siena.  Behind Stony Brook, UMBC and Vermont 2-2 and 3-3, respectively, while UAlbany is fourth at 1-2 overall.  New Hampshire is 1-3, followed by UMass Lowell at 1-4, Binghamton at 1-5, and Hartford at 0-6.
 
Saturday's America East Games

• Binghamton at Quinnipiac, 12:00 p.m.
• Canisius at UAlbany, 12:00 p.m.
• Radford at Hartford, 12:00 p.m.
• New Hampshire at Dartmouth, 1:00 p.m.
• UMBC at Temple, 1:00 p.m.
• UMass Lowell at Iona, 1:00 p.m.

 
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 visits Crosstown Rival Siena on Wednesday, March 11 at 3:00 p.m.