University of Albany Men's Lacrosse Goalkeeper John Carroll Sparks Defense in 9-6 America East Win Against Vermont - UAlbany Sports 2009

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Burlington, Vt. – Corey Small had three goals and goalkeeper John Carroll came off the bench to spark his team’s defense in leading UAlbany to a 9-6 America East Conference victory over Vermont on Sunday afternoon at Moulton Winder Field. The Great Danes, who ended a three-game skid, earned a conference postseason tournament berth for the eighth consecutive year.

UAlbany (7-5, AE 3-1) trailed 4-3 at the intermission, but scored five unanswered to take control in the second half. John Alpizar drew his team even when he moved in from the left side and hit the top corner despite taking a cross-checking penalty from midfielder Luke LaBranche. Derek Kruezer’s unassisted goal put the Great Danes ahead following a successful clear with 5:58 left in the period.

Small, a senior attackman, extended the lead with a pair of extra-man goals in third and fourth quarters. He scored from right of the crease 12 seconds into the first man-up situation after Dave Brock found him from the mid-level of the zone. After UVM’s Max Gradinger was called for slashing with 13:53 remaining, the Great Danes worked the same play as Brian Caufield hit Brock from the top of the box. The junior midfielder then hooked up again with Small, who faked and scored from the top of the crease.

Alpizar added his second tally of the game with 5:20 to play for an 8-4 cushion. The senior midfielder had just two goals this season coming into the contest. Meanwhile, the Great Danes shut down the Vermont attack for exactly 42 minutes despite the fact the Catamounts got off 22 of their 43 shots in that span. Carroll, a freshman, made 10 of his 14 saves during that period.

“John Carroll sparked us with some good saves and the defense played awesome,” said UAlbany coach Scott Marr, whose team can share the conference regular-season title with a victory in the final game of the schedule at Stony Brook on April 25. “We were sluggish in the first quarter after playing on Friday night and we didn’t execute and made some poor decisions (at the start).”

Vermont (4-9, AE 1-3) dominated the first quarter en route to a 4-1 advantage. The Catamounts rode the visitors’ midfield and attack into several failed clears and miscues. Andrew Kelleher, who had three goals and one assist, scored in transition to put his team in front after gathering in a left-to-right crossing pass. After winning the subsequent face-off, UVM’s Gradinger scored nine seconds later on a low shot from the top of the box. Derek Lichtfuss completed his team’s three-goal run by scoring with a man-advantage from the left side.

The Great Danes, who were coming off a 15-13 road loss to fourth-ranked Syracuse just 40 hours earlier, changed from starting goaltender Drew DiCioccio to Carroll to begin the second period and the defense responded. Meanwhile, Joe Pompo and Joe Resetarits found the net 28 seconds apart to close the gap by halftime. Pompo moved to the middle and canned a shot that went off the goalkeeper and into the cage. Resetarits circled from behind the cage to score from the left side of the crease.

Small, who scored three or more times for the 15th time as a collegian, moved into a tie for eighth place on the program’s career chart with 103 goals. Worley had one goal and three assists for the Catamounts, who dropped their fifth in a row.


UAlbany (7-5, AE 3-1)1 2 3 3 - 9
Vermont (4-9, AE 1-3) 4 0 0 2 - 6

UAlbany – Scoring: Corey Small 3-0, John Alpizar 2-0, Joe Resetarits 1-1, Joe Pompo 1-0, Derek Kreuzer 1-0, Luke Cometti 1-0, Dave Brock 0-2, Brian Caufield 0-1; Goalkeeper(s): Drew DiCiccio (15:00, 2 saves, 4 GA), John Carroll (45:00, 14 saves, 2 GA).

Vermont – Scoring: Andrew Kelleher 3-1, Geoff Worley 1-3, Max Gradinger 1-0, Derek Lichtfuss 1-0; Goalkeeper(s): Alex Plavner (60:00, 9 saves, 9 GA).