University of Albany Men's Lacrosse Pulls Out Win

Courtesy: UA Sports

Sophomore Joe Pompo scored the game-winning goal with 32 seconds elapsed in the second overtime, as UAlbany rallied for an 8-7 victory over crosstown-rival Siena on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at Siena Turf Field. The Great Danes have won all seven meetings since both programs have competed at the Division I level, but this one was the most tightly contested.

Siena (0-2) broke a 5-5 deadlock midway through the fourth quarter when senior attack Chris Zarins rifled a shot into the net from the left side after collecting Chris Roth’s feed from behind the cage. The Saints then looked to take control when Ryan Duggan tallied his second goal of the game in man-advantage situation.

UAlbany (1-1) closed the gap to 7-6 with 3:40 left when freshman Joe Resetarits connected with a sidearm shot by reversing to his left shoulder. The Saints appeared to have thwarted any comeback attempt when goalkeeper Brent Herbst, who had 13 saves, stopped Resetarits from the left side of the cage with 12 seconds remaining. But defenseman Kyle Vercruysse’s clearing pass was picked by UAlbany goalie John Carroll and the freshman sent a desperation pass into the Siena zone. After several bounces in the box, Resetarits corralled the loose ball and put it in the back of the net from the top of crease with three-tenths of a second to play to force overtime.

“I knew I had a couple of seconds,” explained Resetarits, who netted a game-high four goals. “I was just trying to pick it up and shoot it. I didn’t think we would get the ball back (after Herbst’s save). There was a big scrum in front of me and I was more shocked that it bounced right to me.”

The Saints had two scoring chances in the first extra period. Carroll made one of his 12 saves on Chris D’Alberti’s high blast and Matt Leithead’s shot was wide with six seconds left in the stanza. However, Siena’s Roth was called for slashing as the overtime ended and the Great Danes started the second four-minute session with an extra attacker. Pompo then sent his game-winner from the right point into the upper left corner off a pass from Brian Caufield.

“I was the third option on that play,” said Pompo, who had a pair of goals. “We had worked on that play every day in practice. We made a lot of errors in the first half, but kept on fighting.”

The Saints, who had lost the previous six meetings with UAlbany by fairly wide margins, dominated the action in the opening half. Kenny Mazzone scored on a low grounder from the left point in the first quarter. Still leading 2-1 late in the second period, Siena found the net twice in a 40-second span. Shaun Dunn went low from the left side and Duggan followed on an extra-man goal with 30 seconds left before intermission.

The Great Danes, who were coming off a one-goal loss in the season opener against Denver, trailed 5-3 with 7:45 left in the third quarter after Zarins connected with the man-advantage from right of the crease. But UAlbany regrouped when Caufield, who had one goal and three assists, converted a bounce shot after Pompo came up with a failed clear. Pompo drew his team even at five apiece with 10:24 remaining in regulation. Defender Garrett Pedley intercepted a clearing attempt with his squad a man up to set up the game-tying goal.

“We were fortunate but we played all sixty minutes,” said UAlbany coach Scott Marr, whose club had lost its previous six one-goal decisions, dating back to the 2007 NCAA quarterfinal defeat against Cornell. “It was gut-check time when we were down 4-1. Siena possessed the ball and took us out of our rhythm. We fought back and did a job on defense in the first overtime.”

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UAlbany (1-1) 0 1 3 3 0 1 - 8

Siena (0-2) 1 3 1 2 0 0 - 7

UAlbany – Joe Resetarits 4-0, Joe Pompo 2-0, Brian Caufield 1-3, Corey Small 1-0, John Alpizar 0-1, Derek Kreuzer 0-1; Goalkeeper(s): John Carroll (64:32, 12 saves, 7 GA).

Siena – Ryan Duggan 2-0, Chris Zarins 2-0, Chris D’Alberti 1-2, Shaun Dunn 1-1, Kenny Mazzone 1-0, Chris Roth 0-2, Bryan Neufeld 0-1; Goalkeeper(s): Brent Herbst (62:38, 13 saves, 8 GA), Tom Morr (1:54, 1 save, 0 GA).