HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — The saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt. In the case of Albany and Yale, that doesn’t quite ring true.

Following their NCAA men’s lacrosse quarterfinal wins at Hofstra on Saturday, the Great Danes and Bulldogs will face off in a rematch of their April 22 meeting, where Yale handed Albany its second loss.

This time, things will be a bit different.

Connor Fields was injured in the first quarter of that game, throwing off the pace of the Great Danes. Against Denver on Saturday, Fields was shut out, but the rest of the Albany offense broke out.

That group helped lead the way to the program’s first NCAA final four appearance.

“Just to get over this hump means a lot to our university,” Fields said. “It comes back to our alumni, too. They all worked hard and they were here supporting us today, so I think it’s a very exciting feeling for everyone.”

Albany held on despite Denver’s late comeback bid.

“They believe in each other and believe in themselves,” Albany coach Scott Marr said. “It’s definitely a great feeling to break through and make this appearance, but we just said in the locker room we’re halfway there.”

On the other end, Yale gutted it out to take a win over Loyola, despite a 19-save performance from Loyola goalie Jacob Stover.

Since defeating Albany on home turf a month ago, the Bulldogs went on to fall in the Ivy League championship game.

They held on against UMass in the first round contest before dealing with the Patriot League champions. At Hofstra, they trailed 2-1 early before going on a five-goal run. Thanks to a disruptive ride and defense that kept the Greyhounds scoreless for 33:43, that margin held.

Headed by senior Chris Keating and freshman Chris Fake, Yale’s diverse defense has continued to grow, even since shutting Albany down in April. The Bulldogs’ ride left Albany puzzled last time out, and it was on full display against Loyola. Replicating that feat will be difficult in their second look.

“I thought it was huge,” Yale coach Andy Shay said of the effort Saturday. “Deep in the second half, we were able to turn them over. We were going to drop ride, which is a little more passive, and just cut the field in half and play 6-v-6. Then [attackman Matt Gaudet] said, ‘Stick with what we do.’ We felt they were getting out pretty easily. We trust the guys to make good decisions on the field and they felt we could get a few back. Sure enough, the guys hustled.”

While things have changed since the last time Albany and Yale met, they’ve both evolved to become final four teams. For Albany, it’s a first in program history, and for Yale, it’s 28 years in the making. Their semifinal encounter ensures there will be a first-time NCAA finalist. Bluebloods Maryland and Duke are on the other side of the bracket.

“Every year, every moment has built to this point,” Shay said. “The guys that suffered through some seasons that weren’t like this had a lot to do with this. I can show my staff practice plans from 15 years ago that look a lot like these. We’ve tweaked some things. But by and large, even when we weren’t this good, we were laying a foundation for these guys. It’s been a long process.”

With Fields presumably healthy, Albany will be closer to full throttle against Yale than it was in April.  In the least, another Yale blowout seems unlikely to occur at Gillette Stadium next Saturday.

One way or another, the rematch will be both teams’ biggest tests yet.

“If you watch our sideline, there's no negativity, everybody is just next-play oriented,” Marr said.

The next play will be the opening faceoff of NCAA championship weekend at Gillette Stadium. Albany’s TD Ierlan and Yale’s Conor Mackie will crouch opposite each other at the stripe, each looking to set the tone for a win to keep his team’s magical season alive.