ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany men's lacrosse team is set to begin postseason play as the #4 seed in this year's America East Championship. This year's championship is hosted by top seed UMBC at UMBC Stadium in Baltimore. The Great Danes are set to battle the Retrievers in semifinal action on Thursday.

Game Info             
#1 UMBC vs. #4 UAlbany – 1:00 p.m. (UMBC Stadium in Baltimore, Md.)
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Leading the Pack

• The Great Danes and Retrievers met once this season, with UAlbany walking away with a 14-9 victory at John Fallon Field.
• UAlbany leads the America East in ground balls per game at 37.73, totaling 415 on the season. In comparison, UMBC ranks seventh in the conference at 27.6 per game. The Great Danes also lead the way in points per game at 24.73.
• Graydon Hogg leads the team in goals with 26, a 2.6 average per game. That mark puts him third in the America East. UMBC's Ryan Frawley ranks fifth in the conference with an average of 2.13 goals per game.
• Jakob Patterson's 29 assists in just nine games puts him atop the America East leaderboards. He averaged 3.22 per game, more doubling that of Vermont's David Closterman in second place with 1.55 per game. His 29 helpers are 10 more than any other player in the conference.
• UMBC's Tommy Lingner paced the way in the conference for goals against average (GAA) at 8.72, about a full goal per game lower than second place. Lingner allowed 91 goals in 10 games with a save percentage of .545, stopping 10.9 shots per game. UAlbany's Liam Donnelly comes in with a GAA of 10.44 and save percentage of .521 while averaging 10.18 saves per game.

Scouting UMBC
The Retrievers are the America East defending champions, having won the tournament over Vermont back in 2019. This year, the team boasts an overall record of 8-2, going 7-2 in conference play. The two losses on the season both came on the road, falling to Binghamton 7-8 in overtime on March 24 and to the Great Danes 14-9 on April 11. The Retrievers capped the season with three-straight victories, beating out Stony Brook and NJIT on the road and taking down UMass Lowell at home. Against this year's other America East playoff teams, the Retrievers defeated #2 Vermont by a final score of 10-8 on April 3 and took down #3 Stony Brook twice. UMBC hosted the Seawolves for the team's first conference game of the year on March 6. The matchup went into four overtimes, with the Retrievers finally coming out with a 13-12 victory. More recently, UMBC's second win against Stony Brook occurred on April 24 on Long Island, with the game again needing extra time before the Retrievers were able to escape with a 14-13 single overtime win.

Last Time vs. UMBC
UAlbany handed UMBC one of only two losses on the season, with the Retrievers being ranked #18 in the country at the time of the game. UMBC led 8-5 late in the third quarter before UAlbany went on a 9-1 scoring run to close the game out, outshooting the Retrievers 42-32. Corey Yunker, Jakob Patterson, and Graydon Hogg led the charge for UAlbany. Yunker finished with four goals and two assists, Patterson finished with two goals and four assists, and Hogg came in with three goals and one assist. Liam Donnelly collected the win in net, logging seven saves. Will Ramos appeared in net briefly during a Donnelly penalty, making a key save and forcing a turnover to help limit UMBC's advancement on a man advantage. The Great Danes trailed by as many as three goals twice throughout the game before mounting the comeback.

Last Time Out
UAlbany was scheduled to play Hartford this past Saturday, but the game was called off due to COVID-19 concerns in the Hartford program. The Great Danes haven't hit the field since April 28 when the team traveled to play Vermont. Yunker scored four times, Kyle Casey added two goals and two assists, and Patterson recorded four helpers in the 14-16 road loss. The biggest weakness for the Great Danes came in the faceoff circle, where the team lost 23 of 34 attempts. On a positive note however, UAlbany showed a strong defensive effort, forcing the Catamounts to cause 18 turnovers.

Thursday's America East Games
Two games are on the schedule for Thursday. The winner of each semifinal game will advance to the America East Championship, set for 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.

• #1 UMBC vs. #4 UAlbany – 1:00 p.m.
• #2 Vermont vs. #3 Stony Brook – 4:00 p.m.

All-Conference Nods
Six different Great Danes collected 2021 All-Conference Awards, the America East announced Wednesday morning. Jakob Patterson and Michael Kozar represented the Great Danes as First Team All-Conference selections, leading the team. Great Danes named to the Second-Team All-Conference included Graydon Hogg, Alex Burgmaster, Steven Kunz, and Jake Piseno. In addition to their All-Conference nods, Hogg and Piseno were also named to the 2021 America East All-Rookie Team.

All-Academic
Alex Burgmaster and Michael Kozar were both named to the 2021 America East All-Academic Team, the conference announced this morning. Burgmaster posted a 3.85 GPA while majoring in Biology. Kozar posted a 3.92 GPA, majoring in Business Administration.

Breaking In
With 12 goals and 33 assists through the end of the 2021 regular season, graduate attack Jakob Patterson now ranks within UAlbany's top-10 in program history in career assists and total points.  Playing in 64 games as a Great Dane, Patterson's 89 assists rank eighth and his 197 points rank ninth all-time.  He is two assists shy from breaking into the top-10 for a single-season.

Four Seed
A defeat in their final game of the 2021 regular season at Vermont, coupled with the cancellation of their original regular-season finale and scheduled senior day against Hartford saw the Great Danes lock up the four-seed in the 2021 America East Tournament.  The Great Danes went 1-3 during the season against the three other teams in the tournament, #1 UMBC (1-0), #2 Vermont (0-2), and #3 Stony Brook (0-1).  UAlbany will play host and top-seed UMBC in the semifinal round, after handing the Retrievers their most lopsided loss of the season in their first meeting, 14-9.

Rookie of the Week II
After matching his total season production with two goals and two assits against America East newcomer and first-time Great Danes opponent NJIT, UAlbany freshman midfielder Peter Salit was named America East Rookie of the Week for the first time in his career.  Salit contributed to a UAlbany victory that kept the Great Danes in contention for the top overall seed in the conference tournament, in conjunction with losses by Stony Brook and Vermont.

PLL Year Three
For the third consecutive season, and the third of the league's existence, the Premier Lacrosse League selected the University at Albany as one of its host sites for its traveling summer schedule.  The Great Danes will host six games over three days at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium starting on August 13.

Rookie of the Week
UAlbany attack Logan Tucker was named America East Rookie of the Week for the first time in his career following the Great Danes' victory over then #18 UMBC.  Against the Retrievers, Tucker scored two goals and recorded one assist.  His second goal of the game, with 1:26 left in the second quarter, capped off UAlbany's first of two three-goal comebacks in the game, to force a five-five tie at halftime.

Resilient
Against the league-leading UMBC Retrievers, the Great Danes fell behind by three goals on two separate occassions.  Both times, UAlbany clawed back to tie the game, first in the first half to force a 5-5 tie at halftime, and second after UMBC built up another three-goal lead early in the second half.  UAlbany futher locked down offensively, breaking through the stingy Retriever defense to the tune of a 9-1 game-ending run to hand UMBC, 2019 America East champion, its most lopsided defeat of the season, 14-9.

Hogg Wild
Against UMass Lowell, UAlbany sophomore Graydon Hogg scored a career-best six goals and added one assists, powering the Great Danes' offense to a dominating 17-6 victory over the River Hawks.  His performance vaulted him to the team lead in goals this season with 15, and earned the first America East Offensive Player of the Week honor of his career.  In five games last season, before the COVID-19 shutdown, Hogg was named America East Rookie of the Week on two occassions.

Tewaaraton II
A secondary addition due to his performance during the season, UAlbany graduate attack Jakob Patterson earned a spot on the 2021 Tewaaraton Watch List in the list's expansion on April 2.  Through six games at the time of expansion, Patterson had scored eight goals and recorded 17 assists to lead the Great Danes in assists and total points on the season.  It is Patterson's first time making the Watch List.

100 III
On March 27, 2021, the UAlbany men's lacrosse program played its 100th America East Conference game since becoming a full member institution in 2002.  Despite losing the game to Stony Brook 16-10, the Great Danes have compiled a record of 76-24 in those 100 games.  Their America East tenure includes a five-plus-year run where they did not lose a game against a conference opponent.  The regular-season streak began in 2013 and grew to 25 games before ending in 2018.

PLL #1
University at Albany alumnus Lyle Thompson was selected first overall in the 2021 PLL Entry Draft by Cannons Lacrosse Club.  It was the third time in his career that he was the top pick in the draft, having been so in the 2013 MLL Draft to the Florida Launch and in the 2013 NLL Draft to the Georgia Swarm.  Thompson joined the PLL following the league's merger with the MLL and will rejoin his brother Miles who plays for the Chaos.

Player of the Week III
Senior attack Tehoka Nanticoke earned his fisrt America East Offensive Player of the Week award following his efforts against Binghamton, scoring six goals and recording three assists for a total of nine points.  Nanticokes six goals and nine points were both single-game career-highs.

100 II
With his first goal against the Bearcats on March 20, 2021, senior attack Tehoka Nanticoke reached the 100 career goals mark.  Nanticoke is the 10th player in Division I era program history to reach the milestone, doing so in 39 games.  Nanticoke joins teammate Jakob Patterson, who hit 100 goals in the season opener against Colgate,  in reaching the milestone this season.

Buzzer Beaters
2021's first game against Vermont, the Great Danes' first defeat of the season and third-straight to the Catamounts dating back to the 2019 regular season, featured buzzer beating goals to end both halves.  Vermont's Amos Gilbert scored with one second on the clock to end the first half, on a setup from Liam Limoges, and UAlbany's Alex Burgmaster did the same in the fourth quarter, scoring with one second on the clock off a setup from Kyle Casey.

Tewaaraton
Senior attack Tehoka Nanticoke was named to the 2021 Tewaaraton Men's Watch List.  Nanticoke, in one game played at the time of release, had scored three goals to go along with four assists in a 16-6 victory over Hartford.  He had picked up right where he left off in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, when, through five games, he had scored 19 goals with eight assists, notching four or more goals in four of five games played.  It is the fourth time Nanticoke has been named to the Watch List.

Player of the Week II
For the second-straight week to start his UAlbany career, graduate transfer Liam Donnelly was named America East Defensive Player of the Week.  Through two games, Donnelly had gone 2-0 in net, allowing just 15 goals for a goals-against average of 7.58 and a save percentage of .571.  Through the Great Danes' first two games, Donnelly led the America East in save percentage and ranked second in goals-against average.

Players of the Week
After the first game of the 2021 season, the UAlbany men's lacrosse team landed two players in the America East weekly awards.  Graduate attack Jakob Patterson, after scoring four goals and recording four assists to lead all scorers in the game against Colgate, was named Offensivle Player of the Week.  Graduate transfer goalkeeper Liam Donnelly, after recording the victory and making 10 saves, was named Defensive Player of the Week.

100
With his fourth goal in the 2021 season opener, graduate attack Jakob Patterson scored his 100th career goal as a member of the UAlbany men's lacrosse program.  Patterson is the ninth player in the Great Danes' Division I era to reach the milestone, doing so in 55 appearances.

Rookie Debut
Freshman attack Camden Hay, brother of junior defender Tanner, hit the ground running in his UAlbany debut.  Breaking into the starting lineup, Camden finished the game scoring two goals and recording four assists, placing second in the team in total points in the Great Danes' 15-9 victory over Colgate to open the 2021 season.  Hay netted his first goal as a Great Dane with 4:15 remaining in the first quarter off a setup from Kyle Casey.

Breaking In
Despite not yet starting their season, the Great Danes have jumped into the Inside Lacrosse national ranking at #20.  Their Week 2 debut saw the team jump four spots despite not playing in a game.  The Great Danes were left off the preseason rankings but were receiving votes just outside the top-20 in the Week 1 poll.

Preseason Accolades
Tehoka Nanticoke was selected as a Preseason All-America Honorable Mention by the USILA, one of two representatives from the America East with UMBC goalkeeper Tommy Lingner.  Nanticoke also earned a Preseason All-Conference selection from Inside Lacrosse, next to teammates Ron John and Jakob Patterson.  Patterson, for the second-straight season, was picked by Inside Lacrosse as the America East Preseason Player of the Year.

Picked Second
The UAlbany men's lacrosse team was picked to finish second in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.  The Great Danes earned 43 points and two first-place votes, falling in just behind preseason favorite Stony Brook, earning 44 points and four first-place votes.  Behind UAlbany, UMBC, 2019 America East Champions, earned 38 points and the final two available first-place votes.

2023 NCAA Quarterfinals
On October 14, 2020, the NCAA announced among its selections for over 450 championship sites for the 2023-26 seasons that the University at Albany was awarded hosting responsibilities for a quarterfinal bracket in the 2023 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament.  It will be the first time the Great Danes host a quarterfinal, having previously hosted three First Round games, in 2007, 2017, and 2018.

Draftees
Three Great Danes were drafted by two professional leagues during the offseason.  First, former goalkeeper Nate Siekierski was selected by the Denver Outlaws of the MLL as the 41st overall pick.  Later in the year, Ron John was selected 18th overall by the NLL's Colorado Mammoth, followed by Jakob Patterson going 71st to the San Diego Seals to join alumnus Connor Fields.  Both John and Patterson are expected to return to UAlbany to utilize their remaining season of eligibility before joining their NLL programs.

PLL Year Two
Following a successful inaugural season, the Premier Lacrosse League was scheduled to return to the University at Albany for another full weekend on its schedule in its second year, but those plans had to be abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The league transitioned to a two-week, single-site schedule in Utah, where seven former Great Danes on three teams took to the field, with one additional as an emergency goalkeeper.

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 35-6 regular-season record in the league dating back to the 2013 season, and between April 28, 2012 (Stony Brook, 12-11) and March 13, 2021 (Vermont, 14-12), the Great Danes did not lose a regular-season home game to an America East opponent.

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.