UAlbany men fall in double overtime against Bryant

Posted: May 7, 2023 / 12:27 AM EDT

Updated: May 7, 2023 / 12:27 AM EDT

BURLINGTON, VT (NEWS10) — UAlbany makes up a four-goal deficit against two-seed Bryant but falls to the Bulldogs in a double-overtime thriller in the 2023 America East title game.

Key Stats

Alex Pfeiffer scored three goals and added one assist
Silas Richmond recorded a hat trick
Thomas Decker scored once with three assists
Jake Piseno won five ground balls and caused five turnovers
Nick Karnes won 12 of 21 faceoffs
Parker Emmett scored twice
UAlbany outshot Bryant 46-42 overall, but Bryant held a 5-0 shots advantage in overtime
Bryant won 41 ground balls to UAlbany’s 31

Head Coach Scott Marr: “We’re extremely proud of what we did. We put ourselves in a position to win a championship in double-overtime and we just fell one play short. Give Bryant credit and good luck to them in the NCAA Tournament. I couldn’t be prouder of our guys for all the adversity we went through with injuries throughout the course of the year. We played really, hard, it just didn’t happen today.”

How it Happened
For the 16th time in program history, the University at Albany men’s lacrosse program made an appearance in the America East final. Their opponent on Saturday in Burlington, Vt. was first-year America East member institution Bryant.

UAlbany advanced to Saturday’s title game by upsetting top-seed and Tournament host Vermont, 10-4, behind a 19-save performance by Great Danes’ goalkeeper Tommy Heller and a five-goal outburst from freshman Silas Richmond. UAlbany ended an eight-game losing streak against the Catamounts, who had eliminated the Great Danes from each of the previous three America East Tournaments.
Bryant knocked off three-seed Binghamton in their semifinal on Thursday by a final score of 12-11. The Bulldogs built a three-goal halftime lead after a tight first half, but then saw Binghamton rally to tie the game at 10 to start the fourth quarter. Bryant regrouped to take a 12-10 lead, and Binghamton’s final effort fell one goal short.
During the regular season matchup between Bryant and UAlbany, in Smithfield, R.I., the Bulldogs used an 11-goal second quarter to take a 15-4 lead into halftime. UAlbany rallied to outscore Bryant 6-1 in the third, and 12-5 in the second half, but ultimately fell 20-16.
Bryant opened Saturday’s championship game on a 3-0 run over the course of the first eight minutes. Silas Richmond, fresh off his five-goal performance in the semifinals against Vermont, scored with 5:03 left in the first to put UAlbany on the board.
Bryant scored less than a minute later to maintain their three-goal advantage before Alex Pfeiffer cut their lead back to two to close the first quarter. The Bulldogs scored three of the next four goals to take a 7-3 lead with 5:05 left in the second quarter.
Richmond scored with 4:11 to go in the second, kicking off a four-goal run for the Great Danes that would bookend halftime. Pfeiffer and Amos Whitcomb scored with 37 and 16 seconds remaining in the half, respectively, to cut Bryant’s halftime advantage to just one, and Thomas Decker scored just two minutes into the third quarter to tie the game at seven.
After Bryant ended UAlbany’s run at four, the Great Danes scored two goals, first from Peter Salit and next from Parker Emmett, to take their first lead of the game, 9-8, with 6:18 remaining in the third quarter. Bryant soon tied the game at nine, but Pfeiffer scored with nine seconds remaining in the third to give UAlbany a 10-9 advantage heading into the final 15 minutes.
The Bulldogs tied the game at 10 with 11:52 remaining before both teams suffered a long scoring drought. Richmond finally broke through, with 2:14 on the clock, to put UAlbany up 11-10. Bryant maintained composure, however, and netted the game-tying goal with just 15 seconds on the clock to force overtime.
Bryant won the opening faceoff of overtime and called timeout. After resetting, the Bulldogs got off a shot that Heller saved. Following the clear, the Great Danes called timeout. On the restart, over the course of the next minute of gameplay, UAlbany and Bryant combined for three turnovers. Bryant was able to get off two shots in the final 29 seconds but neither found their mark and the game went into a second overtime period.
Bryant won the faceoff to start the second overtime. After getting off a shot, the Bulldogs turned the ball over, forced by Jake Piseno, with 3:12 on the clock. The Great Danes failed the ensuing clear, giving the Bulldogs back the ball. Bryant’s Aidan Goltz circled around the back of the UAlbany goal for the game-winner, 12-11.
Despite getting outshot 46-42 overall, the Bulldogs went 5-0 on shots in the two overtime periods. The Bulldogs also held an advantage of 10 in ground balls won, but just a small advantage of two in faceoffs. Piseno finished the game with five ground balls and five turnovers, while Richmond’s three goals against the Bulldogs gave him a total of eight for the tournament.