Former Great Dane standout attack Merrick Thomson begins his 10th season as an assistant coach and offensive coordinator for his alma mater in 2025.
2024 saw the Great Danes return to the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in program history, collecting the program's 10th America East Tournament Championship along the way. The Great Danes hosted the conference tournament at Casey Stadium for the first time since 2018 as the top seed, defeating No. 4 Merrimack and No. 2 Vermont to win the title. In NCAA play, UAlbany defeated Sacred Heart at Casey Stadium in the play-in game before falling to No. 1 seed and eventual National Champion Notre Dame in the First Round. Student-athletes Jake Piseno (Defensive Player of the Year) and Ryan Doherty (Rookie of the Year) collect major awards. Attackman Silas Richmond, a First Team All-Conference selection, led the entire conference in goals. Piseno would go on to collect the prestigious William C. Schmeisser Award, given by the USILA to the top defensive player in Division I men's lacrosse. It was the first time in UAlbany history that a Great Dane has earned the honor.
The Great Danes hosted a program-record 10 regular-season home games in 2023 and counted national powers Cornell, Maryland, Yale, and Penn to Casey Stadium among their 10 opponents. For the first time since the 2021 season, UAlbany advanced to the America East title game, knocking off top-seed Vermont in Burlington to end an eight-game losing streak to the Catamounts that began after their last victory in 2018. The Great Danes fell in the final to conference newcomer Bryant in double-overtime. Jake Piseno was honored as America East Defensive Player of the year, and further earned All-America Honorable Mention accolades from Inside Lacrosse, USILA, and USA Lacrosse Magazine. Piseno ranked second among NCAA Division I competitors in caused turnovers per game, and the team as a whole ranked 10th nationally in clearing percentage. After the season, UAlbany hosted NCAA Quarterfinals matches between #2 Virginia and #7 Georgetown, and #1 Duke and Michigan. Elijah Gash was picked 30th overall to the Whipsnakes in the 2023 PLL College Draft.
Fresh off its latest appearance in the America East championship game in 2021, the UAlbany men's lacrosse team kicked off a historic 2022 season highlighted by two major events at home games. First, in the home opener against Siena, a renewal of the Crosstown Rivalry that had been dormant since the 2016 season, all seven coaches on the sideline, excluding UAlbany head coach Scott Marr, graduated from UAlbany and played under Marr in their careers. Later, the Great Danes hosted Syracuse for the first time in series history after playing the previous 19 games in Syracuse. UAlbany saw breakthrough games from freshmen Thomas Decker and Adam Thistlethwaite to knock off the Orange for just the third time ever, 14-12. The Great Danes clinched the four-seed in the America East Tournament and fell to top-seed Vermont in a rematch of the 2021 title game.
In 2021, the men’s lacrosse team experienced a season in which the Great Danes made it to the America East Championship as the No.4 seed. The team boasted a 5-1 record at home, highlighted by two wins over ranked teams – a 13-12 victory over No. 13 UMass and a 14-9 win over No. 18 UMBC. The offense was a force in the conference, ranking first in shot percentage, points and assists per game and second with 13.85 goals per game.
For the second straight season in 2018, UAlbany was the highest scoring offense in Division I with 14.42 goals per game, with the Great Danes scoring 274 goals with eight double digit goal scorers and 10 players having at least 11 points. He had two players, Connor Fields and Tehoka Nanticoke, each in the top-15 in points per game in DI. Fields, a USILA and Inside Lacrosse All-American plus the America East Offensive Player of the Year, became the second-leading scorer in DI all-time, being joined as All-Americans on offense with Nanticoke, the America East Rookie of the Year, and Kyle McClancy. Those three, joined Sean Eccles and Jakob Patterson as offensive players named America East All-Conference.
In 2017, Thomson coached the offense to be the highest scoring team in Division I at 15.39 goals per game, totaling 277 goals and 171 for 448 points, including nine double digit goal scorers. The team had double digit goals in 16 of 18 games, as the offense helped UAlbany earn its fifth consectutive America East regular season and the 2017 America East Tournament title. Connor Fields earned 117 points, the fourth-highest single scoring season in Division I history. Fields was one of three UAlbany offensive players, along with Kyle McClancy and Adam Osika, to earn All-America honors.
In his first season as a coach with the Great Danes, his offense sported three All-Americans and ranked seventh in Division I with 12.94 goals per game. Connor Fields and Seth Oakes each ranked in the top-10 in goals per game to earn All-America honors while John Maloney also was an All-American in the midfield. Netting double digit goals in 13 out of 16 contests, the UAlbany offense helped the program earn its fourth consecutive undefeated conference season and first-ever at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Previous to returning to UAlbany, Thomson spent six years as the head coach of the Hill Academy, a prep school in his native Canada. Thomson led the Hill Pride to a combined 68-13 record over the final five seasons. While a coach, he also served as the assistant dean of students and an academic advisor.
As a player, Thomson was one of UAlbany's top offensive players of all-time. From 2004-07, he helped the Great Danes earn three America East titles and the program's first Division I NCAA Tournament victory. He was a Third Team All-American in 2007. He finished his career as the program's all-time leading scorer with 244 points and 188 goals, currently standing third and second respectively in those categories in UAlbany history. When he finished his collegiate career, he stood fourth all-time in NCAA Division I history in goals scored, currently standing seventh.
Thomson earned his undergraduate degree in 2007 and also earned his Master's Degree in education administration at UAlbany in 2009. He served as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee from 2005 to 2007.
Thomson also had a post-collegiate career, playing for the New Jersey Pride and Toronto Nationals in Major League Lacrosse and the Philadelphia Wings in the National Lacrosse League. He was named the Most Improved Player of the Year in 2008 and led Toronto to the 2009 Steinfeld Cup, being named the playoffs MVP. He also represented Team Canada in international play, leading the squad to the 2007 International Lacrosse Federation World Indoor title.
