University of Albany

Score: No. 1 UAlbany 14, No. 3 Vermont 11
 
Location: Tom & Mary Casey Stadium in Albany, N.Y.
   
Records: UAlbany (11-5, 6-0 America East) | Vermont (7-7, 4-2 America East)
  
Short Story: The University at Albany men's lacrosse team claimed its third-straight America East Tournament title on Saturday afternoon, defeating No. 3 Vermont 14-11. The Great Danes have officially punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
 
The victory marks the 12^th conference crown in program history.
 
The Great Danes earned several America East Tournament Awards. Ryan Doherty was named the Most Outstanding Player, while Jacob Smith received the Elite-18 award. Additionally, Doherty, Silas Richmond, James Reid, and Brady Smith were named to the All-Championship team.
 
Key Stat Lines  

• Ryan Doherty and Silas Richmond each tallied seven points, with Doherty recording five goals and a pair of assists while Richmond made four goals and a trio of assists.
• Jackson Palumb tallied three goals and was one of three Great Danes with a hat trick.
• Brendan O'Keefe had a pair of assists and picked up two ground balls.
• Austin Oppenheim led the team with six ground balls, followed closely by Cade Galko, Max Neeson, and Doherty with five each.
• Goalie Brady Smith tallied 13 saves on the day.

 
How it Happened:  

• After a scoreless four and a half minutes to start the game, Vermont got on the board first with a goal at the 10:25 mark to make it 1-0.
• Just over three minutes later, the Catamounts were able to score again and make it 2-0.
• Ryan Doherty got UAlbany on the board with a goal on an assist from Brendan O'Keefe to cut the lead in half, 2-1, with less than two minutes remaining in the first.
• The Great Danes tied it up less than a minute into the second when Silas Richmond found the back of the net to tie it up at two each.
• Doherty netted his second of the game four minutes later to put UAlbany in the lead, 3-2, with 10:30 left in the half.
• Vermont answered back with a pair of goals over the next four minutes to take a 4-3 lead with 7:04 remaining.
• Less than two minutes later, the Catamounts added another the extend the lead to 5-3.
• Vermont scored its fourth in a row three minutes later to push the score to 6-3 with 2:31 left in the half.
• UAlbany answered back with a pair of goals within the next two minutes, with Justin Lee scoring with the long pole and Doherty adding his third of the game to cut the lead down 6-5, which would remain the score at the half.
• The Catamounts got off to a strong start in the third, scoring twice in the first three minutes of the quarter to make the score 8-5.
• The Great Danes responded with a pair of goals courtsey of Jackson Palumb and Richmond to cut the lead back down to 8-7 at the 11:23 mark.
• After six scoreless minutes, Vermont broke the defensive stalemate with a goal to make it 9-7 with 5:30 to go in the third.
• UAlbany answered back with a goal from Palumb and Richmond each to tie it up once again at 9-9.
• With under a minute left in the third, Richmond netted his fourth of the game and third of the quarter to put the Great Danes back in the lead at 10-9.
• Doherty made a highlight-reel, behind-the-back goal just seven seconds into the fourth quarter to extend the Great Dane a vantage to 11-9.
• Palumb added a goal just over a minute later to become the third Great Dane with a hat trick and push the score to 12-9.
• Vermont responded three minutes later with a goal to cut the lead to 12-10.
• Doherty answered back with his fifth goal on an assist from Richmond to make it 13-10 with just over eight minutes to go in the game.
• Jame Reid added a goal for UAlbany a minute later to push the lead to 14-10.
• The Catamounts scored with two and a half left in the game to make it 14-11, but it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit and UAlbany walked away as the 2026 America East Champions.

 
Next: With the win, the Great Danes have officially punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year. The team will find out who they will play in tomorrow night's NCAA Selection Show at 9:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
 
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.