Coming Back from Down Five in Fourth, #10 UAlbany Stunned by #1 Syracuse in OT 17-16
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – #10 UAlbany fought back from down five goals to tie the game and force overtime, but was shocked by #1 Syracuse with a Henry Schoonmaker overtime goal 22 seconds in to fall 17-16 in front of 6,484 at the Carrier Dome.
“What a game in an unbelievable atmosphere,” said UAlbany head coach Scott Marr. “I can‘t say enough about my team to battle through adversity. We really competed at a high level today.”
Ty Thompson led UAlbany (0-1) with five goals in the game, helping the team come back from down 16-11 in the fourth quarter to tie the contest at 16.
“We wanted to see more confidence in our midfielders, and they really stepped up today,” said Thompson. “We know we had to fight through adversity; none of us ever thought the game was over.”
This is the second year in a row that UAlbany took Syracuse (2-0) to overtime at the Carrier Dome. Last season, a Miles Thompson double overtime goal gave UAlbany its first-ever win over the Orange.
Lyle Thompson finished with five assists and a goal, while John Maloney had a hat trick, including the game-tying fourth quarter goal with 2:06 left in regulation.
For Syracuse (2-0), Randy Staats got five goals and two assists, while Dylan Donohue had three goals and two assists.
Syracuse got off to a fast start, scoring on its first three possessions. After Schoonmaker scored on first possession, Billy Ward scored on a give and go, then followed with a hard bounce shot of the ground to the top of the net. Later, UAlbany failed a clear, seeing Matt Harris receive a pass and run to the cage to score point blank, to make it 4-0 Syracuse after just over six minutes.
UAlbany got on the board after Derrick Eccles got around his defender and fired for the first Great Dane goal of the season with six minutes in the 1st. Following a Dylan Donahue goal, Lyle Thompson pushed through a defender, getting a low pass to Ty Thompson for the ground ball shot goal. Not long after, Miles Thompson found Ryan Feuerstein on a pass behind the cage. Feuerstein took a few steps to his right, fired and scored, putting UAlbany within two 5-3.
Before the end of the quarter, Kevin Rice and Randy Staats each scored for Syracuse on quick possessions, making it 7-3 Syracuse.
After a failed Syracuse possession in the second minute of the 2nd, Blaze Riorden passed the ball to Feuerstein on the 20-yard line. Feuerstein took the ball all the way for the clear then the score. Minutes later, Lyle Thompson passed the ball to a running Ty Thompson, who made a behind the back shot for the goal, making it 7-5 Syracuse, turning into 8-5 Syracuse after a second Donahue goal.
The UAlbany offense kicked it into high gear the following minutes. Off the faceoff win from Kevin McNally, Maloney from the sideline found a wide open Jimmy Haugen, who charged forward and scored. Three minutes later, with a stall warning against UAlbany, Matt Garziano off the right hand went quickly to the near side and scored on the run to pull UAlbany within one. Next UAlbany possession, Lyle Thompson found Miles Thompson near the cage. With his back towards the cage, Miles Thompson heaved the ball behind the back and above his shoulder to find the net, tying the cage. With 37 seconds left, Lyle Thompson found a running Maloney going to the next for the score, completing a 4-0 run to put UAlbany in the lead 9-8.
A Staats goal in the final seconds of the first half tied the score at 9-9 going into the locker room.
The third quarter started out with the sides going back and forth. An early Scott Loy unassisted score was countered by a Ty Thompson goal after Will Stenberg drew two defenders behind the cage for an open Thompson in front of it. Then Staats got his third goal minutes later on a cross-field pass from Donahue, which was nullified by a Maloney next to the cage after getting the ball from Miles Thompson, tying the score at 11-11.
Syracuse took the advantage in the closing part of the third quarter. In a span of 70 seconds, Donahue put a ball just over Riorden’s shoulder into the net, followed by Ward getting around his defender to get close and score. Score was Syracuse 13, UAlbany 11 going into the fourth quarter.
Going fast before the defense can fully set up, Syracuse built a stronger lead, starting with a counter after Feuerstein’s shot was saved, finding Staats for the goal the other way. Loy added a goal on a dive around the cage, with Staats adding a fifth on another quick counter attack, making the Syracuse lead 16-11 with 10:43 in the 4th.
Down by five, UAlbany earned its offensive chances to pull back into the game. Matthew Bertrams rolled from around the cage to find Ty Thompson for the score, and minutes later, Lyle Thompson found a wide open Stenberg for the score. Next up, a couple of flags put UAlbany in a 5-on-3 man-up situation. The Thompson passed around the ball, with Lyle Thompson getting a look straight ahead for a ground ball shot goal. Now man-down, Riorden got a save, finding a running Eric Cantor. Cantor passed to Ty Thompson near side, who scored while still man-down to pull UAlbany within one. With 2:06 left, Feuerstein’s shot the ball, which was deflected by the keeper into the stick of Maloney, who put the ball over the keeper’s shoulder for the score to complete the 5-0 run and tie the game at 16 with 2:03 remaining.
With a little less than a minute left, UAlbany got a man-up situation. Miles Thompson got off a shot that hit the goalie’s leg and stayed out of the cage. Syracuse picked up the ball and cleared. UAlbany held for the remainder of the half, sending the game into overtime.
Syracuse had the ball to begin the overtime period, and 22 seconds in, Staats found Schoonmaker for the score to give Syracuse the 17-16 win.
UAlbany will return home for its first game at John Fallon Field on Saturday, February 22nd, taking on Drexel at 1 p.m.
