Albany Stuns UVA with Second-Half Comeback, Downs Cavs in Denver

In the 13th game and the 10th hour of the first round of the NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse tournament, Albany delivered the most stunning result Friday.

Making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2017 after winning a long sought-after America East championship, the Great Danes came back from a seven-goal deficit to defeat Virginia 16-14 at Peter Barton Stadium in Denver.

UALBANY DOWNS VIRGINIA @UAlbanyWLax trailed by seven goals in the first half. The Great Danes roared back to shock @UVAWomensLax 16-14. pic.twitter.com/VhKWMVX07n

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) May 13, 2023

Sarah Falk starred again for Albany, scoring seven goals and leading the Great Danes (13-6) to just the second NCAA tournament victory in program history. They defeated Dartmouth in the first round in 2011, the last time they were the America East champion.

Albany will play fifth-seeded Denver in a second-round game Sunday (3 p.m. EDT, ESPN+).

Rachel Clark, Mackenzie Hoeg and Jaime Biskup scored three goals apiece for the Cavaliers, a perennial NCAA contender who sputtered after starting the season 6-0. Virginia ends its season with an 11-6 record.

The Cavaliers appeared well on their way to their 37th NCAA tournament win when they scored six unanswered goals and led 10-3 midway through the third quarter.

But Falk, a 60-goal scorer who was blanked in the first half, got hot and sparked Albany’s comeback. The Great Danes scored three goals in the last 80 seconds of the third quarter —including two goals separated by just 10 seconds — to pull within one at 11-10.

Yeah, we're having fun #UAUKNOW // #AEWLAX pic.twitter.com/gMXEwz3Xgu

— UAlbany Women's Lacrosse (@UAlbanyWLax) May 13, 2023

Falk finished a feed from America East championship MVP Katie Pascale for a man-up goal to tie it at 12 early in the fourth quarter. Albany went ahead on a free-position goal by Grace McCauley with 7:06 remaining. Pascale and Falk added insurance goals to give the Great Danes  a 15-12 lead with less than five minutes left.

Unbelievable #UAUKNOW // #AEWLAX pic.twitter.com/8Nu3V3woRn

— UAlbany Women's Lacrosse (@UAlbanyWLax) May 13, 2023

Virginia put up a fight, as Morgan Schwab assisted goals by Kate Miller and Ashlyn McGovern to make it 15-14. It looked like the Cavaliers would have a chance to tie the game after Aubrey Williams checked the ball out of Pascale’s stick off the draw, but the Great Danes called timeout just in time with 50 seconds left.

Pascale drew a yellow card in the corner and after another timeout leapt over her defender and found Shonly Wallace in front for an empty-net goal to make it 16-14.

Virginia had a chance to score off the next draw but McGovern was stripped from behind by Mackenzie Beam as she shot the ball. The buzzer sounded and Albany’s players mobbed each other on the field.

Pascale did it all for the Great Danes, finishing with four goals, three assists, 10 draw controls and three caused turnovers. She became Albany’s all-time leading scorer with 234 points.