UMBC Proves Might in America East
by J. Jude Hazard | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
ALBANY, N.Y. – This time, it wasn’t
even close.
UMBC jumped on Albany early with a 6-0 run to start the game and
never looked back en route to a 15-7 thumping of the Great Danes at
John Fallon Field on Saturday.
“This is a tough place to play, so it was good to get a
win,” UMBC coach Don Zimmerman said. “We have a veteran
team who have been in a lot of wars, and that really pays
off.”
The Retrievers (9-2, 3-0 AE) captured sole possession of first
place in the America East with the win. UMBC has won 12 consecutive
regular season conference games since a March 31, 2007 loss at
Albany.
Senior midfielder Peet Poillon paced UMBC with four goals and one
assist. Ten different Retrievers scored at least one goal in the
rout.
“They’re a strong team,” Poillon said. “We
came out strong at the beginning, so it kind of made it a different
game.”
Albany (6-4, 2-1 AE) was held scoreless until freshman Joe
Resetarits found the net two minutes into the second quarter. The
Great Danes never led and had their lowest goal total of the
season.
“They came out and took it to us right away,” Albany
coach Scott Marr said. “These guys right now are the king of
the conference.”
Despite the loss, Marr said he expects to see UMBC again in the
America East Championship this year. The two teams have contested
the last three conference championships.
“These guys are No. 6 in the country for a reason,” he
said of the opposition. “I’m a little embarrassed, to
be honest with you, in how we played.”
UMBC dominated Albany in ground balls, 47-29. The Retrievers had
31 ground balls in the first half to The Great Danes’ 8, and
also led Albany in faceoffs in the first half, 10-4. UMBC went into
halftime with a 10-2 lead.
Retrievers’ freshman Sean McKenna scored his first career
goal with 1:28 left in the first quarter, capping UMBC’s 6-0
run to open the game. Freshman midfielder Justin Radebaugh also
recorded his first career point with an assist on a Matt Latham
goal early in the second half that extended the Retrievers' lead to
12-3.
“I think it was an overall good team performance and
it’s something to build on,” Zimmerman said. “We
now have to focus on Hartford.”
Marr said he decided to start Dan McKeon between the pipes because
the senior had a good week of practice, also noting that Saturday
was Albany’s Senior Day.
But Marr pulled McKeon after he gave up six goals on eight shots
in the first quarter and replaced McKeon by Drew DiCioccio to start
the second quarter. The freshman goalkeeper allowed eight goals and
had nine saves in his first action of the season.
Albany freshman goalkeeper John Carroll also saw 6:27 of action
late in the game as both teams substituted in reserves.
“Drew played very well, so we’ll see what happens this
week in practice,” Marr said.
UMBC goalkeeper Jeremy Blevins played all but the last 2:07 of the
game and had 10 saves on 16 shots.
The Great Danes have been decimated by injuries at midfielder this
year, with starters Derek Kreuzer, Kyle Crotty and Mark Cometti
currently out. Cometti started the Danes’ first eight games
but is out for the rest of the season with a broken leg.
It won’t get any easier for Albany. The Great Danes travel
to defending national champion Syracuse on Friday before finishing
the season with two conference road games.
UMBC will face off at America East opponent Hartford on Saturday.
