#10 UAlbany Starts 2014 Campaign at #1 Syracuse
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The #10 University at Albany men’s lacrosse team is set to begin its 2014 season, taking on in-state rival #1 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome on Sunday, February 16th at 4 p.m.
The game will air on Time Warner Cable and will be available online on ESPN3. Gates to the Carrier Dome will open at 2:30 p.m. for the 4 p.m. game. Tickets for the game are available online on Syracuse’s athletic site or at the Carrier Dome box office. They are available for $ 10 for adults and $ 5 for 12 and under, with parking at the facility costing $ 15.
This game features the two top ranked teams in the state of New York. UAlbany comes in ranked #10 in the USILA poll and #11 in the Warrior Media Poll, while Syracuse stands at #1 in the USILA and #2 in the Media Poll. Each won its conference last season, UAlbany taking the America East and Syraucse taking the Big East.
UAlbany will play its first game of the season after going 13-5 overall last year. Syracuse opened against another Capital District opponent on Monday, a 19-4 home win over Siena, to enter the season at 1-0.
Syracuse leads the overall series 10-1, with all games being played at the Carrier Dome. UAlbany won its first-ever game against Syracuse on a Miles Thompson double overtime goal on February 17th, 2013 to win 16-15.
After going 13-5 last season and winning the America East, UAlbany was placed 10th in the United States Intercollegiate Assocation Preseason Coaches Poll and 11th in the Warrior Media DI Poll. It is the highest preseason rankings that UAlbany has had since 2008.
UAlbany lit up the scoreboard against opponents in 2013, earning an NCAA DI-best 15.94 goals per game, almost one-and-a-half goals more than second place Cornell. After scoring a DI-best 113 points last season to lead UAlbany’s attack, Lyle Thompson was selected as the Inside Lacrosse and Lacrosse Magazine Division I Preseason Player of the Year. Miles Thompson and Ty Thompson each return to bolster the attack, earning Preseason All-America status after scoring 73 and 68 points respectively last season.
One of the top freshmen goalkeepers in the country last season, Blaze Riorden earned All-America East Second Team and All-Rookie Team honors after having a 49.1% save percentage in 18 starts, allowing 11.93 goals per game. Helping protect the game includes all-conference first team member Jon Newhouse, who led the America East with 22 caused turnovers, adding 44 ground balls. Also in the unit is All-America East Second Team and All-Academic Team member Cody Futia, who started all 18 games last year, and senior Doug Eich, who had 31 ground balls and was named team captain of the defense for the 2014 season.
Syracuse finished as the NCAA runner-up last season and comes into this year ranked #1 in the USILA poll after going 16-4 last season. The Orange go into its first year as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
On the offensive end, the Orange finished 14th in DI last season with 11.5 goals a game, returning nearly 70% of its production from last year. Junior attackman Kevin Rice leads all returners with 55 points last season and had an eight-assist game against Siena. Many of those assists helped redshirt sophomore attackman Dylan Donohue earn eight goals plus an assist against Siena, finishing with 41 points in 2013. The other end, senior goalie Dominic Lamolinara helped Syracuse finish 14th in DI in scoring defense, having a 52.6% save percentage and allowing 8.65 goals a game. Leading the defense is LSM Matt Harris, the 21st overall pick in the MLL Draft. Harris finished with 29 caused turnovers and 52 ground balls last year.
