Thompson Brothers Score Six Points Each as #16/18 UAlbany Defeats Hartford 15-11
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Led by six points apiece from Miles Thompson and Lyle Thompson, the #16/18 UAlbany men’s lacrosse team earned a 15-11 road victory over Hartford on Sunday afternoon.
UAlbany (5-5, 2-0 AE) used an 11-3 start through the game’s first 42:30 for the victory, holding off a late Hartford (4-7, 0-2 AE) charge in the final quarter.
“At the end of the day, we are 2-0 in the conference,” said UAlbany coach Scott Marr. “We are still striving to play a full 60 minutes to set our standard, but our defense played very well through the first three quarters.”
Miles Thompson led UAlbany with five goals and an assist, while Lyle Thompson concluded with five assists and a goal. Ryan Feuerstein, Bennett Drake and John Maloney all had two goals each. Blaze Riorden earned the win, saving 13 shots in goal.
“I felt good in the game,” said Miles Thompson. “It was a rough start on offense, but we started clicking after our first goal.”
“Most teams tend to pick up the pace to keep with us, but [Hartford] never got to our pace, we kept their offense in check,” said Lyle Thompson.
For Hartford, Conner Yatauro and Adam Yee each scored three goals. Frank Piechota saved 11 shots despite the defeat.
Right off a Hartford faceoff violation, Feuerstein went to the goal and scored just eight seconds in. After a couple of saved shots, Hartford cleared and saw Jaedon Henderson take a rebound from a saved shot and scored to tie the game. The other way, just as the penalty expired, Lyle Thompson found Maloney a couple of meters straight away from the goal. Maloney fired quick and scored in the top of the net to give UAlbany the lead. With 3:28 left in the quarter, Yatauro scored while taking a hit to tie the score. As the period was expiring, Feuerstein cleared himself, swam through a couple of defenders and scored, making 3-2 after one period.
Into the second, Miles Thompson got on the board with a wraparound from behind the cage for the score. It drew a penalty from Hartford, giving UAlbany a man-up situation. Lyle Thompson found Drake next to the cage for the catch, shoot and score. A bit later, Riley Lasda got the ball around a scrum next to the cage, shot the ball and scored to cap the run at 4-0 for a 6-2 UAlbany advantage. Hartford ended the run with a hard bounce shot for a goal from Doug Biondi, which was countered by a second Miles Thompson goal on a shot from the waist. Both sides threatened but the score held as UAlbany led 7-3 to finish the half.
Quickly into the third, Lyle Thompson found Miles Thompson on a pass, who buried a shot into the corner of the net for an 8-3 lead just 1:24 in. The UAlbany defense made a four-minute stand while Hartford kept shooting and missing. On offense, Lyle Thompson scored on a close bounce shot near the cage, then set up Adam Osika for another as Osika found the corner of the net. Drake added another man-up after getting a pass from Miles Thompson as UAlbany completed a 5-0 run. A Yee goal off the faceoff finished the drought as UAlbany held Hartford off the board for 19:16. The third quarter would end with UAlbany held 11-4.
Yee scored a second goal off the faceoff on a fastbreak to open the fourth quarter with a score nine seconds in. Yatauro added another for a third-straight Hartford goal. Miles Thompson ended the run, picking up a ground ball next to the circle and scoring on a putback shot. Hartford tried to get back into the game, with a third Yee faceoff win and goal, followed by an Andrew Cacchio score, to make it 12-8. UAlbany countered quickly, with Connor Russell grabbing the faceoff and going all the way for the goal, followed by Maloney getting open from Lasda for another score to put the lead back to six. Hartford kept pushing with later goals from Ty Schuldt and Yatauro, but a fifth Miles Thompson goal sealed it for UAlbany. Brad Hutton scored with 17 seconds left for Hartford, but UAlbany held for the 15-11 victory.
UAlbany returns home to write another chapter of an in-state rivalry this weekend, taking on Stony Brook on Saturday, April 12th at 7 p.m.
