ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's lacrosse program kicks off the 2023 season on the road with a showdown against Syracuse in the JMA Wireless Dome.
 
Game Info
February 10 at Syracuse, 6:00 pm
Live Stats | ACCNX | Game Notes
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany head coach Scott Marr is one win away from 200 for his career
• Graydon Hogg scored 26 goals in 2022 and is the top returning goal-scorer in the America East
• UAlbany returns five of its top six scorers from 2022
• Syracuse leads the series 17-3, but the teams have split the last four
• Friday is UAlbany's first visit to the JMA Wireless Dome since the 2021 season
• Players who scored 13 of UAlbany's 14 goals in last season's victory will be active Friday

Scouting Syracuse
Syracuse has opened the season 1-0 with a low-scoring, 7-5 victory over two-time reigning America East champion Vermont.  The Orange boast the top-rated recruiting class in the country, including the four of the top 11 ranked recruits, according to Inside Lacrosse.  Their class is headlined by the top overall recruit Joey Spallina, who scored one goal against Vermont in his debut.  Syracuse landed LIU transfer Will Mark, who turned away 13 shots against the Catamounts.  The Orange also return top-recruit Owen Hiltz, who appeared in his first game since 2021 after suffering a season-ending injury before the 2022 season began.  Syracuse holds the edge in the series with UAlbany, 17-3, but the teams have split the last four games 2-2.
 
Last Time vs. Syracuse
April 7, 2022 | UAlbany hosted Syracuse for the first time in series history in a game that was originally scheduled for the 2020 season.  UAlbany's offense was relentless in its accuracy against the Orange, with each of its first 22 shots scoring or otherwise on target, keeping the pressure on the Syracuse defense and goalkeeper.  UAlbany built an 11-6 lead before Syracuse closed within one to close the third quarter.  Faceoff specialist Nick Karnes won possession to start the fourth and scored within seven seconds to stall out Syracuse's momentum.  Will Ramos made his season debut in goal and recorded 15 saves, while Graydon Hogg powered the bulk of the offense with four goals.  It was UAlbany's third victory in the series.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany earned the four-seed in the 2023 America East Tournament and faced off against the 2023 regular season champion Vermont in the semifinal round, a repeat of the 2022 conference title matchup.  UAlbany had hosted the Catamounts three weeks earlier, falling 14-6.  In the semifinal, at Vermont, the Catamounts jumped out to a 4-0 lead seven minutes into the first quarter and held a 6-1 lead at the start of the second.  Despite three goals from Graydon Hogg, and overall outshooting Vermont 35-34, the Great Danes fell 17-7 to conclude their 2022 season.
 
Around the America East
The Great Danes will be the third America East team to start their season when the team visits Syracuse on Friday.  Defending America East regular-season and tournament champion Vermont visited the Orange last weekend, falling 7-5 on Saturday, before conference newcomer and associate member Merrimack made its debut in the America East with a 10-7 victory at home against Hofstra.  The Warriors took to the field again on Wednesday against Holy Cross, defeating the Crusaders 14-9.  Saturday marks the first full day of competition for the America East with six teams active.
 
Friday's America East Games

• UAlbany at RV Syracuse, 6:00pm

Upcoming Milestones

• Program – 387 wins
• Scott Marr – 199 career wins; 340 games coached
• Camden Hay – 43 career points
• Tommy Heller – 77 career saves
• Graydon Hogg – 91 career points
• Jake Piseno – 44 caused turnovers

Approaching 200
At the start of 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 hosts its 2023 home opener against defending national runner-up Cornell on February 18.