It’s been six years since UAlbany last played in the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament. On Wednesday night in a 13-7 victory over Sacred Heart, the Great Danes looked like they hadn’t skipped a beat, evoking memories of the flash and substance of past UAlbany teams.
Falling down goals, outside bombs, long poles leading transition and a no-look one-handed backhand goal by Silas Richmond to close the scoring — UAlbany put on a show to remember.
Alex Pfeiffer started the party with two goals in the opening four minutes and UAlbany never trailed.
Sacred Heart, playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time ever after winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, weathered the initial storm and tied it 3-3 on Carson Spooner’s goal with 11:43 left in the second quarter.
Pfeiffer again stepped up, scoring to ignite a four-goal UAlbany run that carried over into the third quarter.
The Pioneers hung around within striking distance and trailed just 9-6 on Jake Ward’s goal with 11:51 left in the fourth quarter.
Could they make a run?
UAlbany’s Silas Richmond answered that question with an emphatic no on the first of his two fourth-quarter highlight goals.
Richmond’s goal kicked off four straight goals for the Great Danes as they closed out the night in style. Pfeiffer and Richmond each scored four goals for UAlbany and Ryan Doherty added a pair.
The offensive fireworks rightly took center stage, but the Great Danes defense also held Sacred Heart to just seven goals, its second-lowest total of the season. UAlbany freshman goalie Landon Whitney made 12 saves to earn the win.
The defense will be tested with UAlbany’s next opponent – top-ranked Notre Dame on Sunday evening in South Bend, Ind. The Irish lead the country in scoring with an average of 16.0 goals per game.
UAlbany, which reached the semifinal round in its most recent NCAA appearance in 2018 as the No. 2 seed, previously played a top-seeded Notre Dame team in the 2015 NCAA tournament, falling 14-10 in the quarterfinals.
A result from nearly a decade of goal will be a distant memory for a streaking team looking to reach the NCAA quarterfinal round for the sixth time in program history.
Get ready for a show.
