UAlbany MLAX Secures America East Title, Undefeated Conference Season in 21-7 Win over Binghamton
ALBANY, N.Y. – UAlbany sent its seniors off in style with a 21-7 victory over Binghamton on Saturday night, securing its second-straight undefeated America East season and regular season title.
“It feels good that we accomplished a goal that we set in the preseason,” says UAlbany coach Scott Marr, who leads UAlbany to its third undefeated America East season. “We have continued to improve our defense, which was solid tonight.”
UAlbany (9-5, 5-0 AE) honored its nine-member senior class by starting each of them tonight against Binghamton (7-7, 4-1 AE).
Lyle Thompson led the team with 10 points off six goals and four assists. Seniors Ty Thompson and Miles Thompson each scored three goals, with the former adding three assists and the latter having two.
“We saw they were not sliding to us, so we made our reads and stuck with that to be successful,” said Lyle Thompson.
The Great Danes matched its best defensive effort of the season, allowing just seven goals in the game. Blaze Riorden and JD Colarusso combined for 12 saves on 19 shots on goal.
“We played really well defensively, and it helped to have an early lead,” said Riorden. “Everyone played their role and forced outside shots.”
The Great Danes will face tournament host Stony Brook, the 4-seed, on Thursday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m.
For Binghamton, Michael Antinozzi had a pair of goals, while Johnny Maher and Brandon Planck each had a goal and an assist.
UAlbany started off strongly, scoring three goals in a span of 42 seconds. Ty Thompson set up Miles Thompson and Bennett Drake on fast breaks, then scored a goal from Lyle Thompson for the 3-0 lead 3:07 in. Lyle Thompson added another with 6:15 left in the quarter from Miles Thompson. An Antinozzi goal stopped the run, but 24 seconds later, longstick middle Eric Cantor scored unassisted, giving UAlbany a 5-1 lead.
Into the second, UAlbany continued to light up the scoreboard. In the quarter’s first 8:19, Lyle Thompson, John Maloney and Miles Thompson scored in succession. Then with 2:37 left, UAlbany caught fire with three more goals in the following 90 seconds from Miles Thompson, Drake and Lyle Thompson as the run saw the team score seven straight. After Maher scored for Binghamton, Matthew Bertrams and Lyle Thompson added two more in the final 32 seconds of the quarter to send UAlbany into the locker room up 13-2.
Following an Antinozzi goal in the third quarter’s opening 70 seconds, Ty Thompson scored two straight to start another UAlbany run. Miles and Lyle Thompson each added another goal to cap the run at 4-0. After an exchange of goals, UAlbany saw senior Jack Huber, a player injured most of his career, score his first collegiate goal on a catch and shoot, sending UAlbany into the fourth quarter up 19-4.
Binghamton got off to a strong start to the fourth with three consecutive goals. UAlbany held its opponent off the board the rest of the game, seeing Derrick Eccles and Will Stenberg add goals for the eventual 21-7 final score.
