UAlbany Men's Lacrosse Upsets #13 Syracuse, 16-15, in Double Overtime to Kick Off 2013 with a Bang

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – It was a fitting Thompson-to-Thompson ending, as Lyle passed the ball to Miles, who found the back of the net with 3:03 to play in the second overtime, giving UAlbany men’s lacrosse its first-ever win over Syracuse. The Great Danes defeated the 13th-ranked Orange, 16-15, in the 2013 season opener for both programs. It was just the second overtime game in 11 meetings between the two teams, and the first double-overtime contest. It was the first season-opening loss for the Orange since 1996.

UAlbany got on the board first, as all three Thompsons were involved in the first two goals. Miles scored the Great Danes’ first goal, while Lyle assisted Ty at 10:23 to give UAlbany a 2-0 lead over the Orange. UAlbany kept it going with a goal by Will Fuller before Ty Thompson connected on a behind-the-back shot to push the Great Dane lead to 4-0 with 6:56 to play in the first quarter. Syracuse ended the UAlbany rally at 5:13 on a goal by Derek Maltz, but UAlbany pushed the lead to 5-1 at 3:03, as Ty completed a hat trick with an unassisted tally. The Orange scored one more time before the end of the period, getting a goal from Henry Schoonmaker with 8.1 seconds to go.



Syracuse scored first to start the second, as Luke Cometti took an assist from JoJo Marasco less than a minute into play. However, Miles Thompson responded, as he stole an outlet pass from Syracuse goalkeeper Bobby Wardwell, dodged, and found the back of the net with 11:35 to play. Fuller netted his second of the day with an unassisted goal at 8:06, pushing the UAlbany lead to 8-3. Syracuse took advantage of an extra-man opportunity with 5:31 left in the first half, as Matt Walters took an assist from Billy Ward to cut the Orange deficit to 8-4. Syracuse scored last to end the half with under a minute to go, as Marasco connected on an unassisted shot with 54 seconds to play.



UAlbany found the back of the net to start the third quarter, as Ryan Feuerstein took an assist from Matt Garziano at 14:30. However, Syracuse responded two minutes later, as Marasco netted his second goal of the day to cut the UAlbany lead to 9-6, with 12:58 to play. The Orange cut the Great Dane lead to two, 9-7, with just over nine minutes to play in the third, and pulled within one, 9-8, less than a minute later, as Ward, then Kevin Rice scored for Syracuse. 22 seconds later, Scott Loy tied the game, prompting UAlbany to take a timeout. Lyle Thompson put the Great Danes back on top with an unassisted goal at 6:51, and Kevin Glueckert won the ensuing faceoff to give UAlbany another possession. Another Thompson-to-Thompson connection gave the Great Danes back a two-goal lead, 11-9, as Lyle fed Ty in front of the goal at 4:41. Derrick Eccles scored his first collegiate goal at 3:28 on an assist from Miles Thompson, and Feuerstein scored his second goal of the game 25 seconds later, putting UAlbany back on top, 13-9.



The Great Danes got a goal from Ty Thompson, with an assist from Fuller, to push the lead back to four, 14-10, at 13:51 of the fourth period. Cometti responded at the other end following the faceoff, and the Great Danes were unable to take advantage of an extra-man opportunity. Ryan Barber scored an unassisted goal at 11:15 to pull back within two, and the Orange cut it back to one at 8:49 on a tally by Dylan Donahue. Stenberg netted his first of the season at 7:25 to push the lead back to 15-13, but Donahue struck again for the Orange at 4:21 to pull back within one, and then completed a trifecta off an assist from Marasco to tie the game at 15-15 with just under three minutes to play.



Syracuse dominated the first overtime period, taking five shots – three on goal, all stopped by Blaze Riorden – to UAlbany’s zero. The Great Danes won the faceoff to start the second OT, and Lyle found Miles in front of the net for the sudden victory goal.



“These guys have such a great feel for lacrosse and for each other," said UAlbany head coach Scott Marr, in reference to the Thompsons. "It makes it really easy for us to say ‘What’s working? What do you want to do?’ We put it in their hands basically."



The Orange held the advantage in most categories, but not by much. Syracuse outshot UAlbany, 47-45, and held a 36-32 advantage in groundballs. The Orange also won 20-of-35 faceoff opportunities, and the teams were tied with 15 turnovers apiece. However, freshman goalkeeper Riorden was stellar between the pipes for the Great Danes, making 13 saves in 64:57 minutes to earn his first collegiate win. Wardwell stopped seven shots for the Orange.