On Senior Day, senior attack Silas Richmond had four goals and two assists as the University at Albany men’s lacrosse team clinched the America East Conference regular-season title with a 12-9 victory over Vermont on Saturday at Casey Stadium.
Junior attack Ryan Doherty added a hat trick and senior defenseman Max Neeson matched his career-high with two goals, including a 70-yard shot into an empty net in the final minute.
The two-time defending league champion Great Danes (7-4 overall, 5-0 America East) will try to win their third straight title at home. They’ll be the No. 1 seed in the league tournament April 30 and May 2 at Casey Stadium.
“It means a lot,” said Richmond, from Delta, B.C. “The senior class has been through a lot together and we’re all super close, so celebrating each other on this day is huge and having some family down here for some people who can’t always have family down, so it’s pretty big for all of us. And getting that win, securing homefield is awesome. We have some of the best fans in the country, one of the best stadiums in the country.”
Vermont (4-6, 2-2) lost its fifth straight meeting with UAlbany. The Catamounts led 2-0 after the first quarter before the Great Danes ran off three unanswered goals and never trailed again.
Doherty put the Great Danes ahead for good at 5-4 on an assist from Jacob Smith with 3:25 remaining in the first half.
UAlbany led 7-5 at halftime and padded its lead on Richmond’s back-to-back goals to go up 9-5 with 8:57 left in the third quarter.
The Catamounts closed to within 9-7 with 5:51 left in the quarter after Tristan Whitaker and Max Frattaroli scored. However, UAlbany held Vermont scoreless for more than 16 minutes. UAlbany’s Jackson Palumb scored on the man advantage and Doherty added a goal to make it 11-7 with 7 minutes to play to seal the win.
“It’s amazing,” Neeson said. “Playing at home is always something we look forward to. I think we have the best fans in the country and it’s also nice being in our locker room, singing our song, there’s nothing better than that.”
UAlbany used a 10-man ride to help force the Catamounts into 23 turnovers. The defense helped the Great Danes survive Vermont’s decided advantage on faceoffs. Vermont’s Walter Zhao, who entered the game third in Division I in winning percentage, won 19-of-22 faceoffs.
UAlbany sophomore goalie Brady Smith made nine saves.
“I’m just super proud of my team,” UAlbany coach Scott Marr said. “I was just telling these guys (Richmond and Neeson), it’s never easy on Senior Day. It’s fun to celebrate your seniors, but it’s just a different way when you approach the game. There’s a lot of distractions. Family’s here, we had a dinner last night, photos this morning. We’re here for a long time during the day. And obviously that showed in the first quarter. We really struggled in the first quarter. But we battled back and stuck with the game plan.”
