ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany returns to John Fallon Field after playing its last three games on the road to open America East play against Vermont in a rematch of the 2022 conference title game.
 
Game Info
March 25, 2023 vs. Vermont (12:00 pm)
Live Stats | AE.tv | Game Notes | Gameday Program
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is 2-1 at home this season; Vermont is 1-3 on the road
• Vermont has won each of its last three games
• Katie Pascale leads the America East in total assists
• Shonly Wallace ranks second in the America East in total goals
• Vermont and UAlbany rank first and second nationally in free-position percentage
• Saturday is UAlbany's Youth Day, and will feature a postgame autograph session on the field

Scouting Vermont
The Catamounts won their first-ever America East title last season, defeating UAlbany 12-11 after rallying from a five-goal deficit.  Overall, Vermont went 14-5 in 2022 and ended their season with a 16-3 defeat against Denver in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.  This season, Vermont was picked as a narrow favorite in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, edging the Great Danes by one point and one first-place vote.  The Catamounts return two Honorable Mention All-Americans from last season in Ava Vasile and Carolyn Carrera.  Vasile set single-season program records last year with 63 goals and 79 points, while Carrera ranked second nationally in 2022 causing 2.89 turnovers per game.  Four Catamounts have scored 20 or more total points this season.  Vermont got off to a slow start, losing four of their first five games, but have bounced back to win each of their last three.  UAlbany is 24-2 lifetime against Vermont, including an 11-1 mark in Albany, with the only two defeats coming last season in the America East title game and during the 2008 regular season.
 
Last Time vs. Vermont
May 7, 2022 | For the 11th-straight season, top-seed UAlbany found itself in the America East title game.  And for the first time in nine years, their opponent was not Stony Brook.  With the Seawolves ineligible for the postseason after accepting an invitation to join the Colonial Athletic Association, two-seed Vermont took their place to crown a new America East champion for the first time in eight years.  UAlbany jumped out to a 5-1 lead after the first quarter, and led 6-4 at halftime.  Vermont, trailing UAlbany 9-7 after three, outscored the Great Danes 5-2 in the fourth to win 12-11.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany closed out its season-long three-game road swing against regional rival UConn.  The Great Danes jumped out to an early lead following back-to-back goals from Sarah Falk.  UConn responded to score each of the next five, and eight of the next nine, to take control of the game.  UAlbany rallied to close the gap to two mid-way through the third quarter, and again to three early in the fourth, but UConn scored the final five goals of the game to win 20-12.
 
Around the America East
Six teams opened their conference schedules last weekend, leaving UAlbany as the only team in the league to not play an America East opponent.  Early season standings leader UMBC fell from its pedestal after dropping their conference opener at Binghamton.  Joining the Bearcats at 1-0 in-conference is defending champion Vermont, and New Hampshire.  UMBC, Bryant, and UMass Lowell each lost their conference openers and are currently behind UAlbany in the standings.
 
Saturday's America East Games

• Vermont at UAlbany, 12:00 pm
• Binghamton at New Hampshire, 1:00 pm
• UMass Lowell at Bryant, 1:00 pm
• UMBC at Longwood, 1:00 pm

Common Opponents

• Fairfield
  • UAlbany: 2/22 vs. Fairfield, W, 17-13
  • Vermont: 3/4 vs. Fairfield, L, 8-14

Upcoming Milestones

• Mackenzie Beam: 46 appearances
• Sarah Falk: 45 appearances
• Kadi Futia: 40 draws
• Katie Pascale: 44 appearances, 86 assists, 187 points, 192 draws

Milestones Achieved

• Aislinn Sweeney: 150 saves (at #20 Johns Hopkins, 2/12/23)
• Katie Pascale: 150 points (vs. Cornell, 2/18/23)
• Katie Pascale: 150 draws (vs. Fairfield, 2/22/23)
• Sarah Falk: 100 goals (vs. Colgate, 3/4/23)
• Bryar Hogg: 50 points (at UC Davis, 3/15/23)
• Katie Pascale: 100 goals (at UC Davis, 3/15/23)
• Aislinn Sweeney: 200 saves (at UConn, 3/22/23)

Division I Program Career Rankings (since 2004)

• Katie Pascale: Assists (2nd, 86); Points (6th, 187); Draws (3rd, 192)
• Aislinn Sweeney: Wins (8th, 12); Saves (10th, 201)

Pick Your Poison
Coach Thomson preaches the offensive philosophy of always having seven threats on the field, where any of the Great Danes' offensive players are capable of scoring.  This season, through nine games, four Great Danes have scored more than 20 points.  Katie Pascale leads the way with 42 points (24 goals, 18 assists), followed by Shonly Wallace with 32 points (29 goals, 3 assists), Sarah Falk with 24 points (24 goals), and Bryar Hogg with 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists).  Additionally, Allie Maloney has matched Hogg's goals total with 12.
 
Climbing
With two assists at #18 Stanford, junior midfielder Katie Pascale moved into a tie for second place in program history for career assists with 83, sharing the spot with Maureen Keggins (2012-15).  Pascale moved past Sarah Martin (2014-17) and assistant coach Taylor Frink (2008-11), and remains behind just career program record-holder Sam Tortora (2017-20) and her mark of 101.
 
Outbursts
Sarah Falk, UAlbany's leading goal-scorer in 2022 with 52, had scored nine goals through five games to start the 2023 season.  Against Colgate, Falk broke out, recording a nine-goal performance, the second-highest individual goals total in a single game in program history.  Falk scored four goals in the fourth quarter, and her fourth goal of the day brought her to 100 for her career.  Additionally, Shonly Wallace scored all five of her goals against the Raiders in the third quarter.
 
To The Nines
In the 2023 home opener against Cornell, junior midfielder Katie Pascale scored five goals and added four assists for a total of nine points.  It was the fourth time in her career that Pascale has scored nine or more points in a single game, having done so three times during the 2022 season.  Pascale repeated the exact output in the very next game, against four-time defending MAAC champion Fairfield.
 
ESPNU
The America East announced a new partnership with ESPN for the 2023 women's lacrosse season.  The deal will see the 2023 conference title game broadcast live on ESPNU for the first time.  The change also shifted the dates of the conference tournament from May 4 and 6 to May 5 and 7.  The title game will be played May 7 at 10:00 am.
 
Picked Second
A tight 2023 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll saw the Great Danes narrowly land second behind defending champion Vermont.  The Catamounts edged the Great Danes 34-33 in total points and 4-3 in first-place votes.  Vermont defeated UAlbany 12-11 in the 2022 America East title game, with UAlbany's final goal to force overtime wiped away after finding the back of the net just after time expired.  UAlbany will host Vermont to open the 2023 America East schedule.
 
Scoring Threat
Adding to the dual-threat of Katie Pascale and Sarah Falk, the Great Danes added University of Oregon graduate transfer Shonly Wallace to the roster for 2023.  Wallace led the Ducks with 40 goals in 2022 before falling to Stanford in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament.  Wallace began her career at Stony Brook, winning an America East title as a freshman in 2019.  She finished her career at Oregon with 65 goals and 81 points.
 
Power Play
Perennial national power Northwestern will visit UAlbany for the first time in history in April this season.  The Great Danes and Wildcats have played twice before, with both games coming in the NCAA Tournament during the 2011 and 2017 seasons.  The Wildcats have won seven NCAA titles, most recently in 2012.
 
West Coast
One of the highlights of the women's 2023 schedule is a trip to California for two games, against defending Pac-12 champion Stanford followed by UC Davis two days later.  Stanford has visited UAlbany for each of the last two meetings in the series, with the Great Danes nearly coming back to upset the Cardinal in the 2022 season opener.
 
First Time
The Great Danes will open the 2023 schedule against a first-time opponent in Johns Hopkins.  The Great Danes and Blue Jays have never played before in the women's game but do feature a unique connection recently when former UAlbany goalkeeper Georgia Schneidereith and former Johns Hopkins attack Maggie Schneidereith played concurrently as two of the four Schneidereith quadruplets playing Division I lacrosse.
 
Schedule Strength
Five of UAlbany's 16 2023 opponents hold rankings in the Inside Lacrosse preseason media poll, including two in the top five: #4 Northwestern, #5 Syracuse, #14 Stanford, #20 Johns Hopkins,  and #24 UConn.   Additionally, the Great Danes will face off against seven teams who appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament, five teams who were ranked in the final national media poll of 2022, and three 2022 conference champions.
 
Super Sixes
Bryar Hogg continued her international play in the fall at the World Lacrosse Super Sixes Tournament in Canada.  She was joined by new teammate Shonly Wallace, a graduate transfer from Oregon.  Canada defeated the Haudenosaunee National Team in the final to win the gold medal.
 
World Games
Former Great Dane Ivy Santana competed for the Haudenosaunee Women'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 players Lyle Thompson, Ron John, and Tehoka Nanticoke competed on the Haudenosaunee Men's National Team.
 
World Championships
Three members of the Great Danes' program competed internationally at the 2022 World Lacrosse Women's World Championship in Baltimore over the summer.  Assistant coach Taylor Frink and attack Ivy Santana competed for the Haudenosaunee National Team while Bryar Hogg competed for Team Canada.  Canada won the silver medal, falling to Team USA in the championship game, while 12th-ranked Haudenosaunee finished seventh.
 
New Look
The 2023 season will feature a new-look America East women's lacrosse conference.  Perennial national power and eight-time America East champion 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 to account for the two departures.
 
Mainstays
The UAlbany women's lacrosse team has made 11-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.
 
#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.
 
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.
 
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.  UAlbany's host date is scheduled for May 20, 2023.
 
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 visits UMass Lowell on April 1.