ALBANY, N.Y. – The defending America East champion and 21st-ranked University at Albany women's lacrosse program kicks off the 2024 season at home with a top-25 matchup against #14 Johns Hopkins.
 
Game Info
February 9, 2024 vs. #14 Johns Hopkins (2:00 pm)
Live Stats | AE.tv | Game Notes
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany went 7-2 at home last season; Johns Hopkins went 4-5 on the road
• UAlbany returns leading scorer and reigning America East Midfielder of the Year Katie Pascale
• Pascale was named an Inside Lacrosse All-America Honorable Mention, alongside three Blue Jays: Jennifer Barry, Madison Doucette, and Ava Angello
• Angello led Johns Hopkins in scoring as a freshman last season, recording 40 goals and 53 points
• Barry, a transfer from Boston University, ranked eighth nationally last season with 7.72 draws per game; Pascale was 12th, 6.95
• The Great Danes returns five of its top-seven scorers from 2023, accounting for 156 of 279 goals scored
• UAlbany's last won a season opener in 2019

Scouting Johns Hopkins
The Blue Jays went 9-9 in 2023, including 4-2 against Big Ten opponents, and were picked to finish third in the 2024 Big Ten Preseason Coaches' Poll behind defending National champion and preseason #1 Northwestern and preseason #9 Maryland.  Johns Hopkins fell to Rutgers in their first game of last year's Big Ten Tournament, but earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, where they defeated #16 UMass before falling to #3 Syracuse.  Graduate goalkeeper Madison Doucette was named by USA Lacrosse as a Preseason All-America Honorable Mention, joining the Blue Jays after going 32-8 in 40 appearances for Northwestern.  Johns Hopkins returns 12 players from last year's squad who started 10 or more games, as well as 15 goal-scorers.  UAlbany lost the lone game in program history against the Blue Jays last year in Baltimore.
 
Last Time vs. Johns Hopkins
February 12, 2023 | UAlbany opened its 2023 season against preseason #20 Johns Hopkins, a first-time opponent for the Great Danes.  The Blue Jays scored first, matched quickly by Sarah Falk scoring UAlbany's first goal of the new year.  Johns Hopkins responded by scoring eight of the next nine goals to take command of the game.  The Blue Jays ultimately built a lead of 15-4 before UAlbany rallied in the fourth quarter to make the final score 17-10 in defeat.  Four Great Danes, Shonly Wallace, Allie Maloney, Bryar Hogg, and Grace McCauley, each scored two goals.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes most recently appeared in the Second Round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament at #5 Denver, advancing in the Pioneer's pod after rallying from a seven-goal deficit to upset #12 Virginia.  Denver was unbeaten on the season and was the top defensive team in the country, allowing just 5.90 goals per game, and had held each of their opponents to nine goals or fewer.  Nearly six minutes passed before Denver notched the first goal of the game, and the Pioneers led 3-0 with 6:25 remaining in the first quarter.  UAlbany responded with a 3-0 run to tie the game at three.  At halftime, the game was tied 4-4.  Denver outscored UAlbany 4-2 in the second half to claim victory.  Sarah Falk scored each of UAlbany's first four goals, while Katie Pascale recorded three assists, and freshman goalkeeper Grace Cincebox recorded 14 saves, including six on free-position shots.
 
Around the America East
Three America East teams will see action on February 9, the first day of the 2024 season.  New Hampshire visits Marist at 12:00 pm, and Vermont visits Coastal Carolina at 4:00 pm.  #21 UAlbany hosts a top-25 matchup against #14 Johns Hopkins.  UAlbany was picked unanimously to defend their 2023 title in the 2024 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.  UMBC, Binghamton, and Bryant will kick off their seasons on February 10, and UMass Lowell will do so on February 11.
 
Friday's America East Games

• New Hampshire at Marist, 12:00 pm
• #14 Johns Hopkins at #21 UAlbany, 2:00 pm
• Vermont at Coastal Carolina, 4:00 pm

Preseason Honors
Following her stellar 2023 season, Katie Pascale was named a 2024 Preseason All-America Honorable Mention by Inside Lacrosse.  The reigning America East Midfielder of the year, Pascale earned the same distinction at the end of last year from the publication after setting numerous UAlbany program and America East Conference records.
 
Top-25
The start of the 2024 season will see a top-25 matchup for the Great Danes.  Ranked #21 in the preseason national media poll, the Great Danes welcome preseason #14 John Hopkins to John Fallon Field for the first time to kick off their title defense.
 
Picked First
The Great Danes were the unanimous pick to win the 2024 America East title as picked by the league's coaching staff in the preseason poll.  UAlbany landed 36 total points and all six available first-place votes, ahead of projected runner-up and 2022 champion Vermont, 29 points, and 2023 runner-up Binghamton, 28 points and the last remaining first-place vote.
 
Under-the-Radar & Underrated
Inside Lacrosse identified UAlbany as one of five women's teams in 2024 flying under the radar after their impressive 2023 campaign that saw the team win their first America East title in more than a decade and upset #12 Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.  Despite the departures of potent scorers Sarah Falk and Shonly Wallace during the offseason, the Great Danes return two 50-point scorers, Katie Pascale and Bryar Hogg, the former of whom Inside Lacrosse later named as the fourth most underrated Division I player in the country in 2024.
 
Schedule Strength
Once again, the Great Danes will boast one of the toughest schedules in the country.  Highlighted by the presence of three of four 2023 Final Four teams, including both national champion Northwestern and runner-up Boston College, UAlbany's 2024 schedule features seven teams that earned berths into the 2023 NCAA Tournament, three 2023 conference champions, and six teams ranked in the final media poll of 2023, including each of the top three.  Five opponents landed spots in the 2024 national media and coaches' poll, including three earning spots in the top-six.
 
PLL Year Six
Tom & Mary Casey Stadium on the campus of UAlbany will once again host opening weekend and training camp for the 2024 season of the Premier Lacrosse League.  Games will take place May 31 through June 2, and feature the inaugural home games for the newly-designated New York Atlas.  As part of the shift to home venues, the Atlas will play twice during opening weekend.
 
45
For her senior season, attack Bryar Hogg will changer her number from 11 to 45, which holds a special significance for Canadian players, and particularly from those who attended The Hill Academy, where Hogg attended high school.  The number honors Jamieson Kuhlmann, who passed away following an in-game collision in 2008.  Hogg inherits the number from Mackenzie Beam, another Hill Academy player who switched from 91 to 45 last year.  Hogg also now wears the same number as her brother, Graydon, who has worn 45 for his entire career on the UAlbany men's team.
 
The Hidden Opponent
Junior attack Ava Poupard has assumed the role of president of the UAlbany chapter of the Hidden Opponent, a national nonprofit organization that strives to educate, break the stigma around student-athlete mental health, and honor lives lost.
 
Olympics
The International Olympic Committee approved the addition of lacrosse sixes for inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.  Lacrosse was one of five sports, with baseball and softball, cricket, flag football, and squash, to gain approval from the governing board.  A decision regarding the Haudenosaunee national team participation is forthcoming.
 
Top-100
Inside Lacrosse named newcomer Mikaela Mooney to their 2024 freshman top-100 list ahead of the new season.  Mooney, an attacker, is the latest recruit to join the Great Danes from Bayport-Blue Point High School, and earned All-America honors in 2023 after winning the 2023 New York State title, scoring 79 goals with 43 assists in a career in which Bayport-Blue Point went 53-3 in 56 games.
 
Super Sophomore
Ahead of the 2024 season, Inside Lacrosse recognized Grace Cincebox on their list of sophomores to watch for the new year.  As a freshman, Cincebox took over the starting job in goal for the Great Danes late in the season, finishing her first year with a record of 9-2, starting each of UAlbany's final eight games.  After winning the America East title over Binghamton and upsetting #12 Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Cincebox allowed a season-low eight goals for a full 60 minutes against #5 Denver in the second round, while making a season-high 14 stops against the Pioneers.
 
Fall Classic
Continuing UAlbany's tradition of competing on an international prior to, during, and after their Great Danes' careers, sophomore midfielder Emma Torkoff had the opportunity to represent Team Canada at the 2023 USA Lacrosse Fall Classic in Sparks, Md.  Torkoff competed on Canada's U20 team, and will undergo evaluation for inclusion on the roster that will compete at the 2024 Women's U20 Championship in Hong Kong in August.
 
Box Training
UAlbany alumnae Emma Powlin ('18) earned an invitation to participate in the 2024 Team USA Box Training Camp.  USA Lacrosse selected 48 players to participate in the team's build up for the first-ever Women's World Lacrosse Box Championships, to take place in Utica, N.Y. in September, 2024.  Powlin, who finished her UAlbany career with 72 assists, is one of 42 runners on the training roster.
 
2023 Super Sixes
UAlbany women's lacrosse once again made its presence felt on the national stage, with two members of the program competing in the 2023 World Lacrosse Super Sixes tournament in Oshawa, Canada.  Coaching Assistant Shonly Wallace, competing for Team Canada, and freshman Paisley Cook, competing for Team Haudenosaunee, took the field against one another, as well as against Kenya and the United States.  Both Wallace and Cook made return appearances for their nations at the Super Sixes in 2023.
 
Sidelines
After her one season at UAlbany, Shonly Wallace will remain a part of the Great Danes team and move into a role on the coaching staff.  Wallace joins Coaches Thomson, Frink, and Gallagher as a Coaching Assistant in 2024 as she completes her graduate degree at the University.  Wallace made an immediate impact on UAlbany upon her arrival, finishing her lone year with 51 goals and five assists and earning All-Conference First Team honors.
 
Rewriting
Katie Pascale broke several UAlbany and America East records during the 2023 season.  She took over as the program's career leader in total points, 237, and total assists, 111, as the program's single-season leader in draw controls, 139, and as the program's single-game leader in total points, 12.  Her single-season draws total and single-game points total were also America East Conference and America East Tournament records, respectively.
 
4 x 50
The 2023 Great Danes ended the season featuring four players who scored 50 or more points.  Katie Pascale led the way with 92, followed by 78 from Sarah Falk, 57 from Bryar Hogg, and 56 from Shonly Wallace.  Pascale and Hogg return for the 2024 season.
 
Leaders
UAlbany ended the 2023 season as the best team in Division I in free-position percentage, successfully converting at a rate of .560, ahead of second-best Virginia Tech's .548.  Sarah Falk (18) and Shonly Wallace (14) were the Great Danes' most prominent contributors of free-position goals, but UAlbany returns three players, Katie Pascale, Bryar Hogg, and Grace McCauley, who each scored at least five.
 
Ranking
After their historic run in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, the Great Danes finished the year ranked #18 in the final Inside Lacrosse/IWLCA Media Poll.  The ranking was UAlbany's first since landing #24 in the 2018 preseason poll.
 
Win Totals
UAlbany's 13 victories in 2023 are the most in a single season since winning 14 in 2015, and the most since Katie Thomson took over as head coach in 2019.  The Great Danes as a program have won at least 13 games in five seasons now: 18 in 2011, 14 in 2014 and 2015, and 13 in 2010 and now 2023.
 
Shocked the World
After trailing by seven in the third quarter, UAlbany rallied to upset #12 Virginia in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, 16-14.  UAlbany outscored Virginia 13-7 in the second half, and 13-4 after trailing by seven.  It was UAlbany's second-ever victory in the NCAA Tournament, following a defeat of Dartmouth, 10-7, in the 2011 First Round, and the second victory over a ranked opponent of the Katie Thomson era.
 
All-Region
For the third-straight season, midfielder Katie Pascale earned IWLCA All-Northeast honors.  In 2023, Pascale earned her second Second Team selection, previously earning Second Team honors following her freshman year.  As a sophomore, Pascale became the first Great Dane to earn First Team honors since Sarah Martin in 2017.  Pascale was once again one of the top players in the America East in 2023, leading the league in points, assists, and draws.
 
Champions III
For the third time in program history, and the first time since 2012, the UAlbany women's lacrosse team won the America East title.  The Great Danes defeated the two-seeded Binghamton Bearcats in a 14-13 thriller at home on John Fallon Field and ended a nine-game losing streak in the title game.  Sarah Falk and Shonly Wallace powered UAlbany's offense, scoring five goals apiece.
 
Record-Breaker
Junior midfielder Katie Pascale set or tied four records in UAlbany's America East semifinal victory over four-seed New Hampshire.  With her third assist of the game, Pascale broke Sam Tortora's record for career assists, previously 101.  Pascale scored 12 total points in the game to set UAlbany's single-game record as well as the America East single-game tournament record.  Finally, Pascale's seven goals tied the America East single-game tournament record.
 
Midfielder of the Year
Katie Pascale was named just the second America East Midfielder of the Year in program history, following Sarah Martin in 2017.  Pascale, for the second-straight season, is UAlbany's leading scorer, totaling 69 points behind 38 goals and 31 assists.  Additionally, Pascale as won 108 draws, overtaking the program's single-season record.  Pascale is further closing in on the program's career points, assists, and draws record.
 
Regular-Season Champions III
For the first time since the 2011 season, the UAlbany women's lacrosse team won the outright America East regular season title.  It is the program's third outright title and fourth overall, having more recently shared the title with Stony Brook during the 2014 season.  UAlbany finished 2023 a perfect 6-0 against America East opponents.
 
Unbeaten III
With their win over Bryant to close the 2023 regular season, the Great Danes clinched their first unbeaten-in-conference season since 2011, and just their third overall.  UAlbany defeated all six America East opponents on their schedule this season, having suffered no more than two-losses in-conference each season since 2013.
 
Mainstays
The UAlbany women's lacrosse team has made 12-straight trips to the America East title game, winning the conference tournament in 2011, 2012 and 2023.  Before 2023, the Great Danes had met departed conference rival Stony Brook in nine-straight finals.
 
#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.
 
Next: UAlbany visits #2 Boston College on February 13.