Score: UAlbany 19, Canisius 8
 
Location: Casey Stadium in Albany, N.Y.
 
Records: UAlbany (2-2) | Canisius (0-5)
 
Short Story: A balanced scoring output from the Great Danes clinches victory over visiting Canisius in the team's 2020 home opener.
 
Key Stats
 

• Ally Alliegro scored three goals with two assists
• Kyla Zapolski scored three goals
• Sam Tortora scored twice with one assist
• 10 Great Danes scored in the first half
• UAlbany outshot Canisius 39-12, including 24-4 in the first half
• UAlbany won 21 of 27 draw controls
• Canisius goalkeeper Lauren Gilbert made eight saves in the first half

 
Coach Rowan Thomson: "What an awesome home opener.  It was a true team win and the players game out with great energy.  It's always nice to have so many different scorers and the defense played at such a high level and pushed transition.  We're excited to get back to work to prepare for the upcoming week."
 
Recap
 
After three-straight on the road to open the season, the University at Albany women's lacrosse team finally played its home opener Saturday, welcoming visiting Canisius to Casey Stadium.  The Great Danes jumped out to a big lead behind a balanced scoring effort and ultimately defeated the Golden Griffins 19-8.
 
UAlbany scored the first five goals of the game, starting with Hannah Newman converging a free-position attempt with 26:09 to go in the first.  Just over one minute later, Kyla Zapolski scored, unassisted, to put UAlbany up 2-0.
 
The Danes took a 3-0 lead off another free-position attempt, this time from Paige Werlau, with 24:32 to go.  Kathryn Sancilio scored on a penalty advantage with 23:45 left, followed by Haily Carroll on another advantage with 20:35 remaining.
 
Canisius got on the board with 14:12 left in the first, cutting UAlbany's lead to 5-1.  The Great Danes rolled off the next three to take an 8-1 lead, all three of which were scored in the span of 92 seconds. 
 
The Golden Griffins snapped the quick run with a goal with 8:03 remaining, before UAlbany scored twice in 59 seconds to lead 10-2 with 4:54 to go before halftime.  Canisius scored to bring the game to 10-3 before UAlbany added one more goal in the final minute to take an 11-3 lead into halftime.
 
UAlbany saw 10 players score 11 goals in the first half, and as a team, the Great Danes outshot Canisius 24-4 over the first 30 minutes, and won 12 of 14 draw controls.  Canisius' goalkeeper, Lauren Gilbert, recorded eight of her nine saves in the first half.
 
Canisius scored twice at the start of the second half to cut UAlbany's lead to six.  Zapolski scored with 24:44 remaining, sparking a seven-goal run for the Danes, ultimately taking a 17-5 lead with 8:16 remaining.
 
Canisius scored three of the last four goals in the game, including one with eight seconds to go, ultimately losing by a final score of 19-8.
 
Zapolski and Ally Alliegro each recorded a hat trick, while Alliegro added two assists.  Sam Tortora and Sarah Falk each scored twice, with Tortora contributing one assist of her own.  In total, 13 Great Danes found the back of the net, and UAlbany outshot Canisius 39-12 overall.
 
Next: UAlbany resumes its Crosstown Rivalry with Siena on Wednesday, 11 at 3:00 p.m.