ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's lacrosse hosts its regular-season finale, and senior day, with a first-time meeting against Ivy League opponent Penn.
 
Game Info
Saturday, April 30 vs. #13 Penn (12:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Game Notes | Gameday Program
 
Leading the Pack

• Saturday marks the inaugural meeting between UAlbany and Penn in men's lacrosse
• UAlbany is 3-2 at home this season; Penn is 2-2 on the road, and 4-2 away from home
• UAlbany ranks third in the America East in goals scored, and second in total assists and assists per game
• Tanner Hay and Jake Piseno rank first and third, respectively, in caused turnovers per game
• Seven of Penn's 11 opponents have been ranked in the top-20, including five in the top-eight
• UAlbany will learn its opponent in the America East semifinal with the result of Friday night's game between UMBC and NJIT in Baltimore 

Scouting Penn
Penn is 7-4 overall this season, and finished the year 3-3 against Ivy League opponents.  The Quakers hold victories over then-#7 Duke (14-13 in overtime), then-#7 Cornell (15-11), then-#14 Harvard (11-8), and, most recently, then-#20 Saint Joseph's (13-12 in overtime).  Penn also has one-goal losses to then-#4 Princeton and then-#8 Yale.  Two Quakers each earned Preseason All-America accolades (Sam Handley and BJ Farrare) and spots on the Preseason Tewaaraton Watch List (Handley and Dylan Gergar).  Penn was picked to finish second in the 2022 Preseason Ivy League Coaches Poll, and was one of three Ivy League schools to play a game during 2021, a 23-9 victory over Cabrini.  This season, Handly leads Penn with 51 total points and 26 assists, while Gergar leads with 35 goals.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes played their second leg of their second two-games-in-three-days stretch of the regular season, falling at #10 Yale 17-13.  Yale jumped out to an early lead, before UAlbany chipped away to go up 12-11 heading into the fourth quarter.  Yale regrouped to outscored the Great Danes 6-1 in the final 15 minutes to clinch the victory.  Corey Yunker scored five goals for UAlbany, while Amos Whitcomb added two scores.
 
Around the America East
The field for the 2022 America East Tournament has been set, and Saturday is the final day of the 2022 regular season.  Vermont has clinched hosting rights for the tournament and at least a share of the regular-season title.  The latter will be decided with the Catamounts' game Friday at Stony Brook.  Binghamton, UAlbany, and UMBC round out the tournament field, with UMass Lowell and NJIT falling short this year.
 
Saturday's America East Games

• Vermont at Stony Brook, 12:00 pm
• #13 Penn at UAlbany, 12:00 pm
• UMass Lowell at Binghamton, 7:00 pm

Common Opponents

• Cornell
  • UAlbany: 2/19 at #17 Cornell, L, 8-16
  • #7 Penn: 3/26 vs. #4 Cornell, W, 15-11
• Yale
  • UAlbany: 4/24 at #10 Yale, L, 13-17
  • #5 Penn: 4/2 at #8 Yale, L, 11-12 (OT)

UAlbany (0-2) | Penn (1-1)

Rookie of the Week IV
For the third time this season, UAlbany freshman attack Amos Whitcomb was named America East Rookie of the Week.  In two games, at NJIT and at #10 Yale, Whitcomb scored a combined six goals, matching the high-water mark on the team for the week.  Whitcomb scored four against the Highlanders and two against the Bulldogs.
 
Clinched
For the 10th-straight season, the Great Danes will have a presence in the America East Tournament.  UAlbany clinched its spot, and the spot of UMBC, with their victory in their conference finale at NJIT, 16-6 over the Highlanders.  The Great Danes used an explosive second half, outscoring NJIT 12-3, to power their victory behind big performances from Amos Whitcomb (four goals), Graydon Hogg (three goals, one assist) and Regan Endres (15-23 faceoff).
 
Approaching 200
Thirteen games into the 2022 season, his 22nd at the helm, UAlbany men's lacrosse head coach has won 199 career games, leaving him one away from the 200-win milestone.  Marr has averaged more than nine wins per season in his career, and has led UAlbany to nine America East championship titles.  Marr's win total ranks ninth among active Division I head coaches, just behind Penn State's Jeff Tambroni's 205.
 
Greatness Returns
UAlbany men's lacrosse alumnus Blaze Riorden will be in attendance at the Great Danes' game against Vermont.  Riorden won the latest Premier Lacrosse League title as a member of Chaos LC, alongside another Great Dane alumnus Troy Reh.  Riorden had a spectacular 2021 season for the Chaos, winning PLL Goalie of the Year, League MVP, and title game MVP.  Additionally, Riorden was selected as the best player in the PLL, ranking first of 50 among a list voted on by members of the league.  The UAlbany Athletic Department will pay special recognition to Riorden during a timeout in the first half.
 
Rookie of the Week III
Thomas Decker became the third Great Dane to win America East Rookie of the Week this season, following his breakout performance in victory against Syracuse.  Decker had scored two goals this season prior to the game against the Orange, but in that game, he scored three goals and recorded one assist.
 
Layoff King
Will Ramos made his season debut in goal for UAlbany against Syracuse and recorded 15 saves, preventing Syracuse from building any momentum for a comeback attempt.  His saves total was just one shy of his career-best 16, recorded last season during the America East title game against Vermont.  Ramos has a knack for playing well after long layoffs.  In 2021, Ramos started the America East title game, having played 67:40 over the course of the season to that point, 50:22 of which came in one game.  Ramos did not make an appearance in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.  In 2019, Ramos recorded 10 saves in his only appearance and start of the season, against Vermont in the America East semifinal.  Ramos redshirted in 2018.
 
For Three
UAlbany's victory over Syracuse on April 7 was their third in program history.  The series, now spanning 20 matchups, saw its first 19 games played at Syracuse, including two meetings in the NCAA Tournament.  Syracuse won the first 10 meetings in the series, from the first game in 2004 to the 10th in 2012.  UAlbany won a two-overtime thriller in 2013 to clinch their first victory in the series, and won in lopsided fashion for victory number two in 2018.  When Syracuse finally made the trip to Albany, the Great Danes claimed their third win in the first game between the two on their home field.
 
Timely Scoring
Thomas Decker scored three goals and added one assist and Adam Thistlethwaite scored twice to offer significant contributions to UAlbany's win over Syracuse.  In the eight games before the Great Danes hosted the Orange this season, Decker had scored two total goals, while Thistlethwaite's first two career goals came against Syracuse.
 
PLL Training Camp
At halftime of the UAlbany game against Syracuse, the Premier Lacrosse League, having already chosen Albany as the 2022 opening-weekend host site, announced that Albany will also host the league's training camp.  Each of the league's eight teams will bring 30 players to camp before cutting down to 25 to start the season.  Four scrimmages will be held on May 31, ahead of the first round of games June 4-5.
 
High Efficiency
The Great Danes were remarkably accurate on offense against Syracuse.  Their first 22 shots against the Orange were on target, scoring 12 goals and forcing Syracuse goalkeeper Bobby Gavin to make 10 saves.  It wasn't until 10:40 remaining in the fourth quarter, when Corey Yunker sailed a shot wide, that UAlbany missed the cage.  According to Matt Kinnear and Inside Lacrosse, the best they can tell, in the last 11 years, unofficially, the previous high shots on goal to start a game was Brown hitting 18 in 2015 against Providence.  In total, 25 of UAlbany's 33 shots were on target.
 
Long Time Coming
The 2022 game against Syracuse in Tom & Mary Casey Stadium was two years in the making.  Syracuse was originally scheduled to visit Albany and Tom & Mary Casey Stadium for the first time since the teams started playing in 2004, but the game was cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19.  The teams returned to play at the Carrier Dome for the 19th-straight time during the 2021 season, but the Orange agreed to fulfill the original agreement to mark their debut appearance in Albany this season.
 
Players of the Week
Corey Yunker went for five goals and one assist in the Great Danes' game at UMass Lowell, marking the second-straight game in which a UAlbany player recorded five goals.  His efforts earned Offensive Player of the Week recognition from the America East.  Joining Yunker was Amos Whitcomb, whose three goals and one assist against the River Hawks landed him his second America East Rookie of the Week honor of the season.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
Following his six-point performance in victory against Stony Brook, UAlbany junior Graydon Hogg was named America East Offensive Player of the Week.  Hogg scored five goals and recorded one assist against the Seawolves.  Three of his goals came in the fourth quarter, helping stave off a Seawolves' rally to clinch victory for the Great Danes, 12-10.
 
Parting Shots
In their final regular-season meeting as America East opponents, UAlbany hosted rival Stony Brook at Casey Stadium and defeated the Seawolves 12-10.  UAlbany jumped out to a 6-1 halftime lead and withstood a late comeback attempt from Stony Brook.  In the fourth quarter alone, Graydon Hogg scored three of his five goals eight of his 18 faceoffs, stifling the Seawolves' rally.
 
Familiar Foes
The 2022 game against UMass was the latest in the Great Danes longest-running rivalry of their Division I era.  UAlbany and UMass have played every season since 2001, the longest uninterrupted streak among UAlbany opponents.  Since reclassifying to Division I, the only opponents UAlbany has played more frequently are Stony Brook (33), UMBC (26), Vermont (25), and Hartford (24), all America East conference opponents.  Since their first meeting as Division I opponents in 2001, UAlbany is 13-9 against UMass.
 
Rookie of the Week II
Amos Whitcomb had a breakthrough performance for the Great Danes in his young career.  Against Siena, UAlbany's opponent for their 2022 home opener, Whitcomb scored two goals and added three assists for five total points to lead all scorers.  UAlbany earned their first victory of the season, defeating the Saints 11-7.
 
Great Danes on the Sidelines
In Wednesday's game against Siena, seven of the eight coaches on both sidelines come from UAlbany's program, and all eight have ties to the University.  Head Coach Scott Marr employs three UAlbany men's lacrosse alumni on his staff, Merrick Thomson, John Maloney, and Steve Kunz.  On the opposite sideline, Siena head coach Liam Gleason and his three staff members, Tim Cox, Derrick Eccles, and Mike Russell, all earned undergraduate degrees from UAlbany.  Additionally, all seven coaches played for Coach Marr during their undergraduate careers.  Gleason was also an assistant under Marr before accepting his current position at Siena.
 
Rookie of the Week
Jacob Moran claimed the Great Danes' first conference weekly awards of 2022, winning the America East Rookie of the Week honors for Week 3.  Moran scored a team-high four goals at Drexel in the second game of the season, including three in the first half, the first four goals of his career.
 
Family Affair
Saturday's game at Drexel will feature two members of the Marr family on opposing sidelines.  Scott Marr has been head coach of UAlbany for the last 21 years, while his son, Kyle, is a volunteer assistant at Drexel working with the faceoff and goalkeepers.  Both Scott and Kyle played their college careers at Johns Hopkins, but Saturday will be the first time they will meet for a game, since Johns Hopkins and UAlbany did not play while Kyle attended.
 
Captains
The Great Danes selected three players to serve the team as captains in 2022: seniors Corey Yunker, Zane Sands, and Tanner Hay.  Hay and Sands are defenders and Yunker is UAlbany's top returning scorer from 2021.
 
Picked Third
After making a return appearance in the America East title game in 2021, the UAlbany men's lacrosse team was picked to finish third in the 2022 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.  UAlbany was picked just behind Stony Brook, and just ahead of UMBC, with just two points separating the three teams in the poll.  Defending champion Vermont was the unanimous favorite, earning 36 points and all possible first-place votes.  UMBC, defending regular-season champions, secured the last remaining first place vote and 25 overall points.  In between, Stony Brook landed 27 points and UAlbany earned 26.
 
Schedule Strength
Not one to shy away from a tough schedule, Coach Marr's 22nd year features yet another gauntlet of top-ranked opponents.  Seven of UAlbany's games feature matchups against teams ranked in the preseason top-20.  The Great Danes open the season at preseason #15 Cornell, before a second-straight road game against preseason #18 Drexel.  A trip to preseason #2 and 2021 national runner-up Maryland follows, before UAlbany hosts preseason #12 Syracuse for the first time in program history.  The game against the Orange precedes a home game against preseason #17 Vermont in a rematch of the 2021 America East title game.  Finally, UAlbany closes the season against two ranked Ivy League opponents, at preseason #7 Yale and then at home against preseason #11 Penn, the latter of which is the first-ever meeting between the programs.
 
Coaching Tree
Coach Marr's extensive coaching tree expanded once more in 2021, when Robert Morris hired Craig McDonald '08 as their head men's lacrosse coach.  McDonald was a four-year member of Marr's program, appearing in 61 games while scoring three goals and recording three assists with 148 ground balls.  He was part of the 2007 team that went 15-3 and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals.
 
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.  The four matchups for opening weekend have been announced:
 
June 4: Redwoods LC vs. Atlas LC, 6:15 pm | Chaos LC vs. Whipsnakes LC, 9:00 pm
June 5: Waterdogs LC vs. Cannons LC, 1:00 pm | Chrome LC vs. Archers LC, 3:45 pm
 
The PLL announced a multi-year partnership with ESPN starting this season.
 
First Times
2022 will feature a series of firsts for the UAlbany men's lacrosse program.  Most prominently, the annual matchup against Syracuse will be played in Albany for the first time after playing the first 19 games in the series in Syracuse.  Syracuse was originally scheduled to visit UAlbany in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down collegiate sports.  The game was rescheduled to this season, with new Syracuse head coach Gary Gait honoring the agreement originally made under former head coach John Desko.  Additionally, UAlbany will play Ivy League opponent Penn for the first time in program history this season, in the regular-season finale at Casey Stadium.
 
Peer Vote
As voted by its players, the Premier Lacrosse League counted down the top-50 players in the league following the 2021 season.  Goalkeeper Blaze Riorden, 2021 MVP and league champion with the Chaos, was voted as the best player in the PLL following his spectacular 2021 season.  And in his first year in the league following the MLL merger, Lyle Thompson was picked third, giving the Great Danes two players in the top-three.
 
PLL Champions
Two former Great Danes, Blaze Riorden and Troy Reh, were crowned 2021 Premier Lacrosse League champions when the Chaos defeated the Whipsnakes.  The game was a rematch of the 2020 title game where the Whipsnakes came out on top.  Riorden led the Chaos to their redemptive title behind an MVP and Goalkeeper of the Year season, while also earning MVP honors for the championship game.
 
Humanitarian Efforts
Lyle Thompson, in his first year in the Premier Lacrosse League following the merger with Major League Lacrosse, was named winner of the 2021 Welles Crowther Humanitarian Award, recognizing his efforts in raising awareness about atrocities committed against Indigenous youth in residential schools in Canada.  Thompson's efforts were also featured in an issue of Sports Illustrated.
 
Super Sixes
Five UAlbany men's lacrosse alumni competed for the Iroquois National Senior Men's Team in October at the World Lacrosse Super Sixes Tournament.  The five Great Danes on the roster were Lyle Thompson, Ty Thompson, Jakob Patterson, Ron John, and Tehoka Nanticoke.  Also competing that weekend was UAlbany women's lacrosse assistant coach Taylor Frink with the Iroquois National Senior Women's Team.
 
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: The America East Tournament begins Thursday, May 5 at top-seed Vermont.