The No. 1 Albany men’s lacrosse team pulled off a comeback for the ages, outscoring No. 2 Maryland 5-0 in the fourth quarter, including four goals in the final 6:30, to win 11-10 in College Park.
Maryland scored in the first 31 seconds as Jake Burnhardt netted a goal from close range. After defending on man-down, Connor Fields drew a double team and found Jakob Patterson on the doorstep for the close shot and score.
VICTORY! pic.twitter.com/ajr3F8MKOS
— UAlbany Lacrosse (@UAlbanyMLax) March 10, 2018
Maryland took back the lead two minutes later with a pass across the defense to Logan Wisnauskas for the long range shot and score. Albany had a long offense possession with four shots, but Maryland held, scoring the other way with a Bubba Fairman bounce shot score. Maryland led 3-1 after the first quarter.
Albany got a goal back to begin the second quarter as Fields kept dodging and spinning to get off a defender, getting space and scoring from 10 yards out. Albany held on defense on a couple of Maryland shots, but a third attempt on a quick restart off a push was a goal by Adam DiMillo. Maryland added two more quick goals to lead by four; Kyle McClancy got one back in the final two minutes of the half, rolling inside his defender and scoring point blank. Albany trailed 6-3 at the break.
WATCH: A behind-the-back, no-look goal leads lacrosse top plays
Maryland scored two goals in the first five minutes of the third, with Wisnauskas tallying a goal while the Terrapins were man-up, and Fairman adding a second. Off a shot clock warning, Fields was open straight away for the rip and score with 7:10 left in the quarter. Five minutes later, Albany rolled off two quick goals, an over the shoulder, back to the goal shot and score from Patterson, then McClancy emerged from behind the cage and scored to pull the Great Danes within two. Maryland scored two goals to lead 10-6 after three.
Into the fourth quarter, Albany notched a quick goal to trim Maryland's lead to 10-7 going into the final 6:30.
WE GOT A TIE GAME! Patterson is taking over and @UAlbanyMLax has four straight to make it 10-10. 2 MINUTES LEFT! pic.twitter.com/ZD6Q5eyyz8
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 10, 2018
At the 6:14 mark, McClancy made a stutter step move inside his defender to score on the doorstep. TD Ierlan kept winning faceoffs, as Patterson got next to the circle and scored. With 4:28 left, Patterson again got the ball, hitting a blazing shot under the crossbar to tie the game at 10-10.
Maryland got possession on the next faceoff and ran down the clock as Jake Bernhardt shot high, as JD Colarusso made the save. After a clear and timeout, Fields on the run hit a bouncing shot past the keeper to give UAlbany its first lead of the game with 1:16. UAlbany won the faceoff and got the clock down to 10 seconds before Maryland got the ball. The ride held the final 10 seconds as UAlbany took the victory 11-10.
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Next week, Albany begins America East play against Vermont, currently ranked #15 in the nation, on Saturday, March 17th at 3 p.m.
Key stats
Albany: Connor Fields earned the game-winning goal with 1:16 left, finishing with four goals and two assists. Jakob Patterson had the game-tying goal with 4:28 remaining, completing a four-goal day, while Kyle McClancy had three goals. On defense, JD Colarusso earned the victory with 11 saves, including four in the fourth quarter, with Stone Sims earning two caused turnovers. TD Ierlan was 14-for-24 on faceoffs with nine ground balls.
Maryland: Connor Kelly concluded with two goals and three assists, while Jared Bernhardt and Logan Wisnauskas each had two goals. Dan Morris had the loss in goal with 10 saves and 11 goals allowed.
Albany was trailing 8-3 in the third quarter, 10-6 at the start of the fourth and 10-7 with 6:30 to play. UAlbany outscored Maryland 5-0 in the fourth quarter, including 4-0 in the final 6:30.
Prior to this game, UAlbany and Maryland received all first place votes in each the USILA Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Maverik Media Poll.
This is the first UAlbany victory vs. Maryland in program history. Maryland is the defending NCAA champion.
Key situations
8:58-5:37, 2nd quarter: Maryland goes on a 3-0 run, with three different goal scorers, to take a 6-2 advantage.
7:10-1:28, 3rd quarter: UAlbany rolls off three straight goals, including two in a span of a minute. Jakob Patterson with a shot with his back to the goal and over the shoulder. UAlbany was down 8-6.
Will the real No. 1 please stand up?!
— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) March 10, 2018
No. 1 Albany outscores No. 2 Maryland 5-0 in the fourth quarter to solidify its spot at the top of the rankings with a 11-10 victory against the Terps. pic.twitter.com/gF3dFYW9sg
6:14-1:16, 4th quarter: UAlbany rolled off a 4-0 run, with Patterson notching the game-tying goal with 4:28 left, then Connor Fields bouncing a shot off the turf into the net for the first lead for the Great Danes. UAlbany held for the 11-10 victory.
Quote
“That was awesome. That was everything we expected it to be, the crowd, the atmosphere, and how good Maryland was. We struggled for the better part of the game, especially in the first half, then in the second half we picked it up a little bit. We talked about all year about the character in our locker room, knowing we could come back. I couldn’t be more proud of our effort today, I have to hand it to my coaches and the boys in the locker room.”- UAlbany head coach Scott Marr
