ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's lacrosse team renews one of its oldest Division I rivalries this weekend when Drexel visits Tom & Mary Casey Stadium for the Great Danes' second of five-straight games at home.
 
Game Info
February 25, 2023 vs. Drexel (1:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Game Notes | Game Program
 
Leading the Pack

• Saturday's game has been pushed back one hour to 1:00 pm from its original start time due to expected cold temperatures in the forecast
• Drexel is one of UAlbany's longest-tenured non-conference rivals in the program's Division I era, with 20 games played between the two teams since 2002
• UAlbany went 3-3 at home in 2022; Drexel went 3-5 on the road
• UAlbany returns five of its time six scorers from 2022
• Drexel snapped a six-game losing streak in the series last season
• Thirteen of 20 games in the series have been decided by three goals or fewer

Scouting Drexel
Drexel is 1-1 on the season so far, falling in their opener to America East rival UMBC 12-7 before bouncing back to defeat Lafayette 16-14.  Drexel and UAlbany have played one another each year since their first meeting in 2002 expect for 2021, with UAlbany holding a narrow 11-9 lead in the series.  After finishing fourth in the CAA last season with an exit in the CAA semifinals, the Dragons were picked to finish third in the 2023 CAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.  Drexel returns reigning CAA Offensive Player of the Year in Jack Mulcahy, who scored 19 goals and added 25 assists last season.  Flanking Mulcahy are returning attackmen Sean Donnelly and Max Semple, who scored 20 and 34 goals last season, respectively.
 
Last Time vs. Drexel
February 26, 2022 | UAlbany played its second-straight game on the road to start the 2022 season, visiting defending CAA champion Drexel last weekend in a game that, for the first time in history, saw head coach Scott Marr meet his son, Kyle, for a game on opposing sidelines.  Drexel jumped out to a three-goal lead before UAlbany freshman Jacob Moran, who scored two goals in 30 seconds, kicked off a three-goal run to tie the game mid-way through the first quarter.  Drexel outscored UAlbany 5-2 in the second quarter, leading into a third quarter where UAlbany held a 4-1 scoring advantage.  The Great Danes ultimately rallied from a four-goal deficit to tie the game at nine before Drexel pulled away in the final minutes, 14-12.  Moran finished with a team-high four goals, the first four of his career.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany hosted its 2023 home opener against second-ranked and 2022 national runner-up Cornell in the Big Red's first game of the season.  UAlbany and Cornell played a largely back-and-forth affair, with UAlbany holding a narrow 6-5 lead at halftime.  Early in the third quarter, Cornell scored twice to take a 7-6 lead, before UAlbany tied the game just over a minute later.  Cornell went up two early in the fourth, only to see UAlbany tie the game again at nine with 9:22 left in the game.  Cornell took control by rolling off three-straight goals to lead 12-9 with 4:19 remaining.  UAlbany added one final goal in the final 90 seconds to bring the final score to 12-10.
 
Around the America East
Binghamton has won its first two games of the 2023 season, and is one of two unbeaten teams in the America East through the early part of the year, with UMBC having won its only game so far.  Merrimack has three wins in four games as a first-year associate member of the conference, but most recently suffered its first loss.  Vermont, defending regular-season and conference champion, has won its last two games after falling to Syracuse in its opener, while conference newcomer Bryant has dropped to 1-1 after losing its second game.  UAlbany, UMass Lowell, and NJIT each seek their first victories.
 
Saturday's America East Games
UMass Lowell vs. Siena, 11:00 am
Lafayette vs. Binghamton, 12:00 pm
Bryant vs. Quinnipiac, 1:00 pm
Merrimack vs. Denver, 1:00 pm
Drexel vs. UAlbany, 1:00 pm
NJIT vs. Manhattan, 2:00 pm
 
Upcoming Milestones

• Program – 387 wins
• Scott Marr – 199 career wins; 342 games coached
• Camden Hay – 43 career points
• Tommy Heller – 85 career saves
• Graydon Hogg – 94 career points

Milestones Achieved

• Jake Piseno – 50 caused turnovers (2/18/23 vs. #2 Cornell)

Approaching 200
Two games into the 2023 season, his 23rd at the helm, UAlbany men's lacrosse head coach Scott Marr 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.
 
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.  UAlbany's host date is scheduled for May 20, 2023.

Picked Second
UAlbany was picked in a tie for second place in the 2023 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, equaling UMBC's points total, 39, with the Retrievers taking one first-place vote.  Two-time defending conference champion Vermont was picked as the unanimous favorite with 49 points and all seven available first-place votes.  Bryant and Merrimack, newcomers to the America East this season, were picked fourth and sixth, respectively, while the final 2022 America East semifinalist, Binghamton, was picked fifth.
 
New Addition
Joey Carino was a late addition to the men's lacrosse roster this season.  Carino was recruited to UAlbany to play quarterback, where he appeared in 17 games over three seasons, passing for three touchdowns and running for three more.  Carino, who played both football and lacrosse at Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains, N.Y., originally committed to Syracuse to play lacrosse before switching to UAlbany football.  Carino will play in UAlbany's defensive midfield.
 
Schedule Strength
Once again, UAlbany men's lacrosse boasts one of the toughest schedules in the country.  Four of the Great Danes' 14 opponents hold top-10 preseason rankings: #2 Maryland, #4 Cornell, #7 Yale, and #10 Penn.  Three others, Syracuse, Vermont, and UMass, received votes in the preseason media poll.  The Great Danes will host both the 2022 national champion Maryland and the 2022 national runner-up Cornell, and will further host 2022 quarterfinalists Yale and Penn.  Including Vermont, UAlbany has five 2022 NCAA Tournament teams on its schedule.
 
Homecoming
For the first time in program history, the 2023 UAlbany men's lacrosse schedule features a record 10 regular-season home games, all of which will be played at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium.  Following their season opener on the road, the Great Danes will play their next five games at home.  Additionally, UAlbany will play four-straight home games leading up to their regular-season finale.  UAlbany has never exceeded eight regular-season home games, but has hosted 10 games at home twice, in 2007 and 2018, including postseason games.  UAlbany went 10-0 each of those seasons at home.  Including the 2023 NCAA quarterfinal round, Casey Stadium is scheduled to host a minimum of 12 Division I men's lacrosse games this season.
 
Team USA
Two former Great Danes, goalkeeper Blaze Riorden and faceoff specialist TD Ierlan, were selected to the 23-member United States Senior National Team roster for the 2023 World Championships in San Diego.  Riorden and Ierlan are the only two players in UAlbany history to have been named America East Defensive Player of the Year.  The 2023 World Championships, which will feature 30 nations, begin June 21 and run through July 1.
 
Extended
On December 12, 2022, the UAlbany Department of Athletics announced that men's lacrosse head coach Scott Marr agreed to a contract extension through the 2026 season.  Marr, enters his 23rd season in 2023, took over as head coach of the Great Danes' men's lacrosse program in 2001.  Since then, he has accumulated 199 victories, including nine America East championships, and appeared in 10 NCAA Tournaments, while winning America East Coach of the Year six times.  In 2018, Marr led the Great Danes to the program's first-ever berth into the Final Four.  That same season, UAlbany earned its first-ever #1 ranking in the national media poll, marking the first time in history a Division I-affiliated State University of New York program was ranked #1 in any sport.
 
Lyle Thompson
One of the most prolific players in the history of the sport, Lyle Thompson was named to the Upstate Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame with the Class of 2022.  He won the Tewaaraton Award in back-to-back seasons in 2014 and 2015.  The Great Danes' all-time leading scorer, Thompson holds the NCAA single-season points record, and ranks second in NCAA history with 400 career points and 225 career assists.  During his career at UAlbany, Thompson led the Great Danes to three America East titles and 46 total victories, while making two NCAA quarterfinal appearances.
 
U21 World Championship
Associate Head Coach Merrick Thomson led six active members of the UAlbany men's lacrosse program at the 2022 World Lacrosse Men's U21 World Championship in Ireland over the summer.  Thomson was a member of Canada's staff, overseeing Graydon Hogg.  The Haudenosaunee team saw four Great Danes, Jake Piseno, Keelan Seneca, Jack VanValkenburgh, and Amos Whitcomb, among members of its roster.  Canada won the Silver medal and Haudenosaunee the Bronze.
 
World Games
Former Great Danes Lyle Thompson, Ron John, and Tehoka Nanticoke competed for the Haudenosaunee Men's National Team at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama.  Lacrosse at the World Games was played with the sixes format, and featured a field of eight teams.  Additionally, former UAlbany women's player Ivy Santana competed on the Haudenosaunee Women's National Team.
 
New Look
The 2023 season will feature a new-look America East men's lacrosse conference.  Stony Brook departed for the Colonial Athletic Association and Hartford has started its reclassification to Division III.  The America East brought in Bryant as a full member, and Merrimack has a two-year deal to play men's lacrosse in the America East as an associate member.
 
PLL Year Five
The Premier Lacrosse League will once again return to the campus of the University at Albany for their fifth season in 2023.  For the second-straight year, UAlbany will host the league's training camp and opening weekend games.  Four games will be held at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium between June 2 and 4.
 
PLL Year Four
UAlbany once again hosted a weekend during the Premier Lacrosse League's fourth season.  In previous years, UAlbany hosted its weekend towards the middle or end of the summer, but in 2022, UAlbany's spot was moved to opening weekend in addition to the League's training camp.  Five Great Danes appeared in three of the league's four games of opening weekend.  The Whipsnakes defeated the Chaos 9-8 in a rematch of the 2022 final, The Atlas beat the Redwoods 17-11, the Cannons beat the Waterdogs 16-10, and the Chrome defeated the Archer 11-10.  Former Great Danes turned heads during year four once again, with Blaze Riorden and Troy Reh making the league for a third-straight season with Chaos LC.  Previously, Riorden, Reh, and Lyle Thompson were named to the PLL All-Star Game.  Finally, Thompson was named Attackman of the Year, and repeated as Humanitarian of the Year.
 
Next: UAlbany continues its five-game home stand on March 7 against #18 UMass.