University of Albany's Corey Small Scores Four Goals in Lacrosse's 10-2 Win Against No. 11 Princeton

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Albany, N.Y. – Corey Small scored four goals, including two in each half, as UAlbany picked up its first win of the season with a 10-2 upset of 11th-ranked Princeton on Friday, March 21 at John Fallon Field.

UAlbany (1-5) ended a stretch of four consecutive one-goal losses by limiting Princeton to 10 of its 28 shots through the opening three quarters in a game played in freezing temperatures and wind gusts in excess of 30 miles per hour. Senior goalkeeper Brett Queener made 10 saves, including six in the final period, as the Great Danes held an opponent to its lowest goal total in nearly five years.

The Great Danes, who were edged by No. 14 Drexel just six days ago at home, snapped a 1-1 tie late in the first quarter when Small and freshman Kyle Crotty connected 28 seconds apart. Small scored from the right side off a pass from Steve Ammann after the Tigers were whistled for an offside call. Queener’s save of a Mark Kovler shot led to Crotty’s goal in transition. Small gave his club a 4-1 halftime lead midway through the second quarter when he fired an underhanded blast from the middle of the zone after freshman Brian Caufield drove from the left corner.

Small, whose goal count was one off his career-high, and Levine stretched the lead with goals in the final four minutes of the third quarter. Princeton goalkeeper Alex Hewitt stopped Brian Grodotske’s initial shot, but Small recovered the rebound and found the back of the net. Levine carried the ball from the right side, hesitated, and then spun back to his right shoulder for his fifth goal of the season with 2:44 left in the stanza.

The Great Danes, who were hosting their highest-ranked opponent since last year’s NCAA first-round game with Loyola, scored four unanswered in the final stanza. Chris Schongar, a long-stick midfielder, helped clear the ball in transition to the scoring area, where Small finished off Caufield’s crossing pass. Caufield upped his team’s lead to 8-1 with 11:31 to play after a blocked shot in the defensive half led to a fastbreak opportunity. Ammann, a senior midfielder who a career-best scoring total with two goals and two assists, scored his second of the game five minutes later.

“It feels good because we beat a quality opponent,” said Queener, who made double figures saves for the 20th time in his career. “We played our best sixty minutes this year. We communicated, new their offensive sets, and played with discipline.”

Mark Kovler, an All-America midfielder, scored both goals for the Tigers, who were coming off an 11-6 victory over Hofstra and were held to their lowest goal output since the 1989 campaign. Hewitt finished with eight saves. UAlbany’s Caufield had one goal and two assists.

“We needed a win,” offered UAlbany coach Scott Marr, whose team was playing its fifth national top-15 opponent this season. “That’s a program with six national titles and a Hall of Fame coach. Brett Queener was great in goal, but we also played solid position defense. We limited our mental mistakes and played with discipline.”

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#11 Princeton (2-3) 1 0 0 1 - 2

UAlbany (1-5) 3 1 2 4 - 10

Princeton – Scoring: Mark Kovler 2-0, Scott MacKenzie 0-1; Goalkeeper(s): Alex Hewitt (60:00, 8 saves, 10 GA).

UAlbany – Scoring: Corey Small 4-0, Steve Ammann 2-2, Brian Caufield 1-2, Jordan Levine 1-1, Kyle Crotty 1-1, Mark Cometti 1-0; Goalkeeper(s): Brett Queener (55:18, 10 saves, 1 GA), Dan McKeon (4:42, 1 save, 1 GA).

UAlbany 10, #11 Princeton 2 (Mar 21, 2008)