Inside Lacrosse: NCAA Fallball Check-In: UAlbany Great Danes

The impressive recruiting class is highlighted by a freshman whose surname is already synonymous with Albany lacrosse. Joe Resetarits, younger brother of 2007 Tewaaraton finalist Frank Resetarits, is expected to play big minutes up front.

A two-time U.S. Lacrosse High School All-American, Resetarits tallied 98 goals and 68assists as a senior and gives Albany a pure scorer - something it has been lacking since the elder Resetarits and Merrick Thomson departed after the 2007 season.

Marr thinks Resetarits will have no problem living up to his brother’s legacy.

“There’s no question, Joe’s a super player,” he says. “He’s a good, smart, heady player. He’s a little different than Frank, not the same build as Frank…Joe adds a little bit of quickness to his game that Frank didn’t have. Frank was a great finisher, and he was a very good passer too, but Joe seems to pass the ball a little bit better than Frank. Frank was a little bit better finisher than Joe, so that’s something he’s going to work on. He certainly comes from great stock that way, and Joe will be fine. He’s playing with some good people, so that makes it a lot easier, as well.”

Also expecting to see significant minutes from the attack position will be Dave Brock, a two-time second-team NJCAA All-American transfer from Herkimer County Community College. Brock scored 151 goals over his two years in junior college and is known for his superb finishing skills.

Eight of Albany’s 14 recruits are midfielders. Ricky Bonitatibus (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) and Daley Baker (Cleveland Heights, OH), both high school All-Americans in 2008, should figure into a rotation of midfielders that will try to replace Jordan Levine and the Ammann brothers (Mike and Steve,) who all graduated and are now playing professionally.

Top Dogs

Brian Caufield (28) is back after leading the team in scoring as a freshman (Larry French)Albany returns their top two scorers from the ‘08 campaign in Brian Caufield and Corey Small. Caufield lead the Danes in scoring as a freshman despite playing through an injury for much of the season.

Attackman Joe Pompo, a member of the 2008 America East All-Rookie Team, came on strong at the end of last year and will be counted on more in the upcoming season. Pompo has been “tearing it up” during fall practices, according to Marr.

All signs point to senior Dan McKeon as the starting goalkeeper. McKeon, a backup to Brett Queener for the last two seasons, had been used in net when Albany would use Queener as an attacker in extra-man situations.

“At this point, it’s Danny’s job,” said Marr. “Coming into this year as a senior, backing up Brett the last couple of years, he’s done a great job for us. One of the other guys are going to have to play real, real well to beat Danny.”

A collection of Danes will look to replace Craig McDonald, a three-time all-conference defender who marked up against the oppositions top scorer. Mike Banks was an all-rookie selection last year and should take on a bigger role in the defensive corps.

Three Questions
Can Joe Resetarits live up to the hype?

Resetarits has big shoes to fill and will constantly be compared to his brother. Will he be able to handle the pressure and contribute from the get-go?

How will the team respond to last season’s crushing defeat in the America East Championship?

Scott Marr and the Great Danes will be eager to prove that blowing a nine-goal lead was just a fluke.

Who will step in for Craig McDonald?

McDonald was a lockdown defender that could make the other team’s best player obsolete. How will the team replace him?

By Jon Campbell

Comment On Article By ualaxer

Sean, nice fall update on this year’s Great Danes. I will disagree with one part of the article when you state that Albany finally gets a pure scorer in Joe Resatarits something it has not had since his brother in 2007. OK you make it sound like it was a long dry spell, one year is all we are talking about. And in that year the #8 Goals Per Game scoring leader in NCAA DI was Corey Small. Only seven players had more goals per game. I would think that he is a pretty good pure scorer. Also, Brian Caufield finnished #10 in the NCAA in Points Per Game. He scores and assits with the best of them and scored a ton of points in the second half of the season. Together Small and Caufield return 94 points. Only 3 NCAA DI teams have an attack tandem returning more points. I think Joe Resatrits will be outstanding this year and as Coach Marr stated his transition will be assisted by some very good players. Joe Pompo and Dave Brock round out what I believe will be one of the top five attack units in DI.