ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's lacrosse program heads west to visit Canisius on Wednesday.
 
Game Info
Wednesday, March 16 at Canisius (4:00 pm)
Live Stats | GGBN | Game Notes
 
Leading the Pack

• Katie Pascale leads the America East in assists per game
• UAlbany shares the league lead in assists per game and ranks tied for second in total assists
• The Great Danes rank third in the America East in points per game
• Canisius is 1-1 at home this season

Scouting Canisius
Canisius is 4-1 overall on the season, opening 2022 on a four-game winning streak with victories over Bucknell, Robert Morris, Saint Francis (Pa.), and Pittsburgh.  Since their fifth game of the year, a 14-9 defeat against Marquette, the Golden Griffins saw one game, against Binghamton, cancelled, and a second, against St. Bonaventure, postponed.  Wednesday will be Canisius' first game since March 4.  Canisius went 2-8 in 2021 against a MAAC-only schedule that included three defeats each against Siena and Niagara, including to the Saints in the MAAC Tournament.  The Golden Griffins, who were picked seventh in the 2022 Preseason MAAC Poll, currently sit second in the MAAC standings behind Iona, while ranking second in the conference in caused turnovers and third in draw controls. 
 
Last Time vs. Canisius
UAlbany hosted Canisius for its 2020 home opener, defeating the Golden Griffins 19-8 behind a balanced scoring output.  Ally Alliegro scored three goals with two assists in one of the best performances of her career, while former Great Danes Kyla Zapolski and Sam Tortora combined for five goals and one assist.  Ten Great Danes scored in the first half, giving the team an 11-3 lead after the first 30 minutes.  For the full game, UAlbany out-drew Canisius 21-6, and outshot the Golden Griffins 39-12, including 24-4 in the first half.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes hosted #24 Drexel last Friday in a game that was shifted up 24 hours to avoid inclement weather in Saturday's forecast.  UAlbany experienced a roller-coaster of a game against the Dragons, trailing by one after the first quarter before Drexel opened a four-goal advantage at halftime.  UAlbany rallied in the third, outscoring the Dragons 6-1 to take a 13-12 lead heading into the fourth quarter.  Drexel used an 8-0 fourth quarter to stop the Great Danes' momentum in its tracks and claim a 20-13 victory.
 
Around the America East
Vermont has now rolled off four-straight wins and sits in first place at 6-1 overall.  Stony Brook still ranks sixth nationally and is now 3-2, ahead of New Hampshire and UMBC at 4-3 and tied for third.  Binghamton has fallen under .500 at 3-4, followed by UMass Lowell at 2-6 and UAlbany at 1-4.
 
Wednesday's America East Games

• Bryant at New Hampshire, 2:00 pm
• UAlbany at Canisius, 4:00 pm 

#21 Retired
Syracuse University announced in August, 2021 that Katie Thomson will have her jersey honored in a ceremony during the 2021-22 academic season.  Thomson is one of four former Orange student-athletes selected for the honor this season, and one of three women, with Felisha Legette-Jack and Anna Goodale.  This group of four, including former men's lacrosse star and current men's lacrosse head coach Gary Gait, who coached Thomson when she played for the Orange, are the first to receive the honor outside the Orange's primary revenue sports.  Further, Thomson, Legette-Jack, and Goodale are the first women to receive the honor in Syracuse history.  The ceremony took place on February 20. 
 
Starting Strong
In the second game of the season, at Colgate, UAlbany opened the game on a three-quarter-long, 17-0 scoring run before defeating the Raiders by a final score of 19-2.  Colgate did not score their first goal until 13:12 remaining in the fourth quarter.  Nine Great Danes scored at least one goal during the 17-0 run.

Last Minute
Trailing #13 Stanford 15-11 with 54 seconds remaining, UAlbany rolled off three goals in 41 seconds to close with one of the Cardinal.  Sarah Falk let UAlbany's rally effort, scoring two of the three goals, after having scored her first goal of the game with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.  Stanford won the ensuing draw control with 13 seconds remaining to stop UAlbany's comeback in its tracks, and held on to win 15-14 despite being outscored by the Great Danes 6-1 in the fourth.
 
PLL Year Four
The Premier Lacrosse League announced on February 8 that the University at Albany would once again serve as a host for one of the league's weekend slates.  Additionally, the league announced that UAlbany would host the 2022 opening weekend, a change from the campus' traditional window of August.
 
Oh, Canada
Following her stint at the Canadian National Team's summer camp in August, Bryar Hogg was extended an invitation to join the official roster for the 2022 World Lacrosse Women's World Cup.  Hogg will compete with Team Canada in Towson, Maryland in June and July with 19 other national team selections.  The Cup will feature a record-high 30 teams, of which Canada is ranked second after winning a silver medal in the 2017 World Cup.
 
Preseason Recognition
2021 America East Rookie of the Year Katie Pascale was named America East Preseason Offensive Player of the Year by Inside Lacrosse.  Pascale led UAlbany in 2021 in points and assists.  She also ranked second in the America East in assists and third in total points, and was named America East Rookie of the Week five times during the season.
 
Picked Third
The Great Danes were picked to finish third by the narrowest of margins in the 2022 America East Preseason Coaches Poll.  UAlbany and UMBC both earned 28 total points, but the Retrievers were able to break the tie by virtue of receiving one first-place vote.  This was the first season since 2010 that UAlbany was picked lower than third in the conference's preseason poll.  Eight-time defending champion Stony Brook was once again picked as the unanimous favorite, receiving 36 total points and all six possible first-place votes.
 
Schedule Strength
Of the 15 games on UAlbany's 2022 schedule, the Great Danes will play five against team ranked in the national preseason top-25 poll.  For the 2022 season opener, UAlbany will host preseason #13 Stanford.  Later in the season, they will host #16 Drexel and #21 UConn.  The annual showdown with Syracuse, preseason #3, closes out a five-game road swing on April 19.  The regular season ends with the rivalry game at home against preseason #6 Stony Brook on April 30.  Beyond the preseason rankings, four of UAlbany's 2022 matchups held top-20 rankings in the final national media poll of 2021, and six of their opponents qualified for the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
 
New Look
Despite returning 2021 leading scorer Katie Pascale and defensive starters Mackenzie Beam and Eliza MacCaull, the Great Danes will feature a new-look offense and defense this season.  Departing from the 2021 squad are four of the five leading scorers, as well as starting goalkeeper Georgia Schneidereith.  The Great Danes will see a class of 10 freshman and one graduate transfer step up to fill the void.
 
Rules Changes
The 2022 season features a handful of rules changes for the women's game.  Most notably, games will no longer be played in two 30-minute halves, but instead will be played in four 15-minute quarters.  Additionally, the shot clock will now reset to 60 seconds after a save or a shot hits the post, and pregame stick checks have been eliminated and coaches will no longer be able to request stick checks during timeouts.
 
Super Sixes
Assistant coach Taylor Frink made her second appearance for the Iroquois National team in October at the World Lacrosse Super Sixes Tournament.  She was one of six Great Dane alumni competing for the Iroquois National team that weekend, with the other five, Lyle Thompson, Ty Thompson, Jakob Patterson, Ron John, and Tehoka Nanticoke, competing on the men's team.
 
International Summer
Continuing the tradition of Great Danes competing abroad, defender Mackenzie Beam and attack Bryar Hogg were invited to participate in the Team Canada national camp in August.  The camp featured 40 players for consideration for roster the 2022 Women's Field Lacrosse World Championships.  Later in the summer, assistant coach Taylor Frink and attack Ivy Santana competed in the Pan American Lacrosse Association Sixes Cup for the Iroquois National team in September.  Frink was making a repeat appearance for the Iroquois Nationals, having competed on the senior women's team in 2019 in the inaugural Pan America Lacrosse World Qualifiers. 
 
10 for 10
The 2021 semifinal victory over Vermont landed UAlbany its 10th-straight appearance in the America East title game.  UAlbany has won two America East titles, claiming back-to-back victories in 2011 and 2012, but has fallen in the finals in each of the last seven seasons to Stony Brook.
 
2021 Coach of the Year
Third-year head coach Katie Thomson was named 2021 America East Coach of the Year, the first such award in her career at UAlbany.  Thomson guided the Great Danes to a 10-6 overall record in 2021, including 7-2 in-conference, while securing the two-seed in this year's America East Tournament.  The team will make its 13th-straight postseason appearance, and earns its 11th top-two seed during that span.  2021 marked Thomson's first victory over a ranked opponent in her career as UAlbany head coach, with the Great Danes defeating #20 Hofstra at home by a score of 18-7.
 
Ranked Victory
In her third season, UAlbany head coach Katie Thomson recorded her first victory over a ranked opponent when her Great Danes dominated #20 Hofstra 18-7 at John Fallon Field on March 9, 2021.  In her first three seasons, Thomson had her team played against nine ranked opponents, including top-ranked Boston College in 2019, as well as multiple games against Thomson's alma mater Syracuse and conference rival Stony Brook. 
 
Mainstays
The UAlbany women's lacrosse team has made 10-straight trips to the America East title game, winning the conference tournament in 2011 and 2012.  For each of the last nine, the Great Danes have met Stony Brook in the final.

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 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, 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.  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 Thomson helmed the Pride of the Women's Professional Lacrosse League.  Joining Thomson on the sidelines was assistant coach Taylor Frink.  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.
 
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.
 
PLL Year Three
UAlbany hosted its second weekend of the PLL summer schedule in 2021.  After a successful first year, the Great Danes were awarded hosting privileges for year two, before the format was changed to account for the COVID-19 pandemic.  The league made its triumphant return to Albany in 2021, playing six games over three days in Tom & Mary Casey Stadium.
 
Next: UAlbany hosts back-to-back games against UConn on March 22, and against Binghamton to open the conference slate on March 26, before playing their next five on the road.