University of Albany

Score: No. 1 UAlbany 14, No. 4 UMBC 3
 
Location: Tom & Mary Casey Stadium in Albany, N.Y.
   
Records: UAlbany (10-5, 6-0 America East) | UMBC (6-7, 4-2 America East)
  
Short Story: The University at Albany men's lacrosse team cruised past UMBC Thursday evening by a score of 14-3 to advance to the America East Championship game. The defensive unit came to play, allowing just three goals after shutting the Retrievers out in the first half. 
 
Key Stat Lines  

• Ryan Doherty led the team with four goals and added a ground ball.
• Brendan O'Keefe added three goals and an assist for a total of four points.
• Silas Richmond recorded a trio of assists.
• Goalie Brady Smith was a monster in net, tallying eight saves.
• Austin Oppenheim was atop the team with four ground balls, followed by Jacob Smith with three. 
• Max Neeson finished with three caused turnovers. 

 
How it Happened:  

• UAlbany was first on the board when Daniel Kesselring scored under a minute into the game to make it 1-0 early in the first.
• Ryan Doherty found the back of the net just over five minutes later to extend the lead to 2-0.
• With less than two to go in the first, Doherty bounced in his second goal of the game to make it 3-0 heading into the second quarter.
• After nearly six scoreless minutes to start the second, Koleton Marquis ended the stalemate to make it 4-0 with 9:15 to go in the half.
• Just over two minutes later, Doherty netted his third of the game to push the lead to 5-0.
• Brendan O'Keefe and Doherty each netted a goal with less than five to go in the half to make the score 7-0, which would remain the score at the half.
• Coming out of the break, Kevin Carney and Alex Pfeiffer each found the back of the net less than five minutes into the third to make it 9-0.
• UMBC got on the board with 6:06 left in the third to make it 9-1.
• Brendan O'Keefe answered with his second and third of the game, becoming the second Great Dane with a hat trick, 11-1.
• The Retrievers got on the board first in the fourth quarter with a goal to make it 11-2.
• UAlbany responded with a goal from Jackson Palumb to extend the lead to 12-2.
• Brendan Barnard netted a goal with less than five to go to make the Great Dane lead 13-2.
• UMBC answered back quickly with a score to make it 13-3.
• With less than a minute left, Marquis scored his second of the day to make it 14-3, which would prove to be the final score of the game.

 
Next: The Great Danes will compete for the 2026 America East Championship this Saturday at 1:00 PM against No. 3 Vermont at Tom and Mary Casey Stadium. For ticket and parking information, click here. 
 
Social Central: Stay up to date with UAlbany men's lacrosse by following the team on X (@UAlbanyMLax), Instagram (@ualbanymlax), and Facebook for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.