University of Albany Men's Lacrosse Uses 6-0 Run to Defeat Drexel 15-8 in Season Opener - UAlbany Sports 2015

PHILADELPHIA – The #13/10 UAlbany men’s lacrosse team battled the elements and ran past #19/RV Drexel with a 6-0 run in the middle of the game to earn a 15-8 victory on the road to open the 2015 season. Nine different Great Danes scored as UAlbany (1-0) snapped a five-game skid against Drexel (0-2), netting six-straight goals from 10:36 left in the 2nd to 10:30 left in the 3rd. It is also the second time in three years that the Great Danes defeated a ranked opponent on the road to begin the year. “We’ve lost to [Drexel] the last five years, to get a 1-0 start is great for our confidence moving forward,” said UAlbany coach Scott Marr. “We had a lot of contributions, it was great to get in a lot of new faces, and they did a wonderful job. To score 15 our first game and only give up eight, we are certainly pleased with that effort.” Freshman Connor Fields led UAlbany with six points off three goals and three assists, including four points in the 6-0 run. Seth Oakes scored four goals in his UAlbany debut, including two behind the back, while Jake Cullen scored two goals and an assist off the bench. “We were working the ball around and being unselfish,” said Fields. “We always were looking for one more pass, and we hit our shots.” On the defensive end, Blaze Riorden saved 16 shots, his best total in a season opener. “We were all on the same page, technically I lead the unit, but everyone has an equal role,” said Riorden. “We held them to eight goals, and five of them were man-up.” For Drexel, Cole Shafer had three goals and an assist to lead the team. Ryan Belka added two goals. Will Gabrielsen got the loss in goal, saving 10 shots in 60 minutes. At 1-0 Drexel early, Lyle Thompson made a spin move and scored to put UAlbany on the board. 20 seconds later, a Drexel faceoff violation gave UAlbany a man-up spot: John Maloney passed to Cullen for the goal. Seth Oakes added a third on a turnaround shot close to the circle for a 3-0 UAlbany run. Mitch De Snoo scored for Drexel 44 seconds later, setting the eventual end of first quarter score at 3-2. Thompson passed to a running Oakes for a behind-the-back shot and score in the opening minutes of the second. Drexel responded with Mason Pynn running towards the cage and scoring. Off another Drexel faceoff violation, Cullen scored off the pass from Fields for the goal. After over seven minutes without a score, Justin Reh fired low and scored from Derrick Eccles. Just before the end of the half, Fields made a turnaround shot and score to put UAlbany up 7-3 at the break. In the opening 4:30 of the second half, Maloney, Bennett Drake and Fields scored in succession to build UAlbany’s lead to 10-3. Drexel added two goals in two minutes to pull within five. In a man-up situation, UAlbany forced a turnover at the mid-line on a clear attempt, as the ball went from Fields to Maloney to Oakes to the goal. Oakes added another in the closing seconds of the quarter on a behind-the-back shot to push UAlbany up 12-5 by the end of the third. Given a man-up scenario at the start of the fourth, Fields netted his third from Maloney for a 13-5 lead. After a Belka goal by Drexel, neither side scored for the next seven minutes. Then, Ky Tarbell found Drake for the goal. Drexel added two more goals, with a Tarbell goal from Cullen with under three minutes left setting the eventual final score of 15-8. UAlbany is scheduled to play Bryant in Rhode Island on Tuesday, February 24th at 4 p.m.