#7/7 University of Albany Men's Lacrosse Dominates Siena 23-7 - UAlbany Sports 2015

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – The #7/7 UAlbany men’s lacrosse team proved to be the top dogs in the Capital District once again on Tuesday, dominating Siena 23-7 on the road for its fifth-straight victory. “I was very pleased to how we responded after a huge win on Saturday against Yale, coming out three days later against a tough Siena team,” said UAlbany coach Scott Marr. “We started off great with an outstanding first quarter; we gobbled up every ground ball, Blaze [Riorden] had some key saves, and offensively, we did a great job of moving the ball and finding the open man.” After allowing the first score, UAlbany (12-2) scored the next 18 goals over the next 36:12 against Siena (5-8), leading 17-1 at the half and at one point having an 18-goal lead. “I would say the ride was the most exciting part of our game today,” said Marr. “The amount of turnovers that we caused because of our hustle; riding is just that, all hustle and heart.” 16 different UAlbany players earned points against Siena. Seth Oakes led UAlbany in goals for the fifth-consecutive game, finishing with four. John Maloney scored two goals and two assists, Bennett Drake had a hat trick and an assist while Lyle Thompson and Kyle McClancy each had three points. “We were moving the ball and running our offense,” said Maloney. “We got good opportunities and made our shots. We were trying to get Lyle [Thompson] the ball, and when he would dodge, they would send a double early, so we moved off-ball, and Lyle [Thompson] would find us.” On the defensive end, UAlbany allowed just one goal in the first half. Blaze Riorden saved six shots in the first half to earn the win while JD Colarusso defended in the second half, concluding with three saves. “We didn’t play as individuals, we played together as a team as one,” said Riorden. “Give [Siena] credit, they got some good shots off, but our defense played really well.” For Siena, Tim Cousin netted two goals, adding an assist and was the only Saint to score multiple points. Nick Capalbo got the loss with eight saves and 17 goals allowed in the first half. Siena scored first in the opening minute of the first quarter, then UAlbany’s offense started its tear. First goal, Connor Fields pulled the defense towards him, freeing Matthew Bertrams for the straight-away shot and score. Oakes added another after being left alone, revving up and firing for the goal. A minute later, Maloney connected on a downward shot from Thompson. 35 seconds later, McClancy emerged from the pack, picked up a Thompson missed shot and scored close range. Thompson helped the next goal, drawing the double team and passing to a running Adam Osika for the catch, shoot and score. UAlbany scored twice in a span of 40 seconds, with McClancy going away from a triple team, firing and scoring, then Maloney running through a double team and scoring. The UAlbany ride kept the ball on the offensive end as the Great Danes scored three more times before the end of the quarter off an Oakes rocket shot and score from Tim Cox, an AJ Kluck faceoff win and pass to Fields for the score, then Bertrams adding a second goal on a sprint to the cage and a score. Riorden and Co. held off a Siena attack in the final minutes of the period as UAlbany led 10-1 after the first quarter. The defense stood strong in the opening part of the second quarter with neither side scoring in the opening 6:14. UAlbany broke the drought as Thompson fed Fields for the shot into the right corner for the goal, then 24 seconds later, Derrick Eccles pushed through a defender and scored. As UAlbany’s ride caused a turnover, McClancy drew the defense forward and passed to Oakes all alone next to the goal circle. Oakes turned around for the easy goal. In the following seconds, Cox scored straight-away, then Oakes added another with a hard, long range shot while stepping backwards. Justin Reh took command of the offense, coming from around the cage and scoring, then adding another when the goalie was out of the circle after getting the pass from Drake. UAlbany led 17-1 at the break. 3:14 into the second half, Maloney threaded the needle from the far side to Drake, who completed the play with a high shot and score. Cousin responded and broke the UAlbany run with a goal just inside the left post. The two sides exchanged scores with Ky Tarbell netted a shot while falling near the circle, then long stick Weston French scoring while the team was man-down for Siena. Drake converted while man-up with a pass from John Glancy, then Tom Nuckel added a score two minutes later on a bounce shot. Siena scored the next two as UAlbany led 21-5 after three quarters. As UAlbany went to its reserves, it continued to dominate on defense. Jake Cullen got a chance on the rebounded first shot and converted long range. With 5:55 left to play, Drake added his third goal, coming from around the cage to score. Siena got two goals before the end of the game as UAlbany took the 23-7 victory. UAlbany will go for a perfect conference regular season on Saturday, April 25th, hosting UMBC at 3 p.m. at Bob Ford Field. The game will be televised on the Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.