They're Back: Albany Tops No. 13 Ohio State, Second Top 20 Victim of Week
by J. Jude Hazard | LaxMagazine.com | Game Blog Replay
ALBANY, N.Y. – The Great Danes are
back.
Four days after defeating the highest ranked team in the
program’s history, Albany dominated faceoffs and controlled
the possession to hand No. 13 Ohio State its second loss of the
season, defeating the Buckeyes 11-9 on Saturday afternoon at John
Fallon Field.
The Danes (3-1) defeated Delaware, No. 5 Massachusetts and the
Buckeyes since their season-opening loss to No. 20 Drexel. The wins
against UMass and Ohio State are the first time Albany has defeated
two ranked teams in back to back games since May 2007.
“We set a goal when we got home from Drexel to be 3-1 at the
end of this stretch,” Albany coach Scott Marr said.
“It’s not often that we get three home games in a row
here in Albany in March. We really wanted to take advantage of
it.”
Albany got goals from seven different players, including two goals
and two assists from junior midfielder Rocky Bonitatibus.
“We knew once we beat UMass we could hang with
anybody,” Bonitatibus said. “It doesn’t matter
what they’re ranked, it doesn’t matter what we’re
ranked. We’re just a tough team and everyone’s got a
problem playing against us.”
The opening goal of Saturday’s game came on a short range
blast from Albany freshman attack Ty Thompson, assisted by his
cousin, freshman attack Miles Thompson.
“This is our fourth game and that’s the second time
that they’ve gotten the first goal of the game from one to
the other,” Marr said. “They just kind of have that
knack to know where each other are.”
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Rocky Bonitatibus scored two goals and added two assists as Albany beat its second straight Top 20 foe. © Greg Wall |
Ohio State’s largest lead of the game came midway through
the second quarter on a Jeff Tundo unassisted goal that put the
Buckeyes up 5-3. The Great Danes responded with five unanswered
goals by five different players to go up 8-5.
Albany controlled 15 of 24 faceoffs and grabbed 42 ground balls to
Ohio State’s 29. Ohio State (5-2) managed just three shots in
the third quarter as Albany dominated the possession throughout the
first three frames.
“It’s hard to score when you don’t have the
ball,” Ohio State sophomore attack Logan Schuss said.
“Faceoffs are one of the most crucial parts of the
game.”
Schuss scored two goals in the final three minutes of the game to
cut the Albany lead to 11-9. Midfielder Dominique Alexander had one
goal and three assists in the loss.
“We came out slow on the day and really didn’t
execute,” Schuss said. “Next time we’ve got to
come out stronger.”
Albany doesn’t have much time to enjoy its victory. The
Danes head to Syracuse on Tuesday to play the top-ranked Orange.
Although they’ve come close, including an overtime thriller
in 2006, Albany has never beaten Syracuse. Marr said a win is
attainable if the Danes play their best game.
“We’ve got to play as good as we can play,” he
said. “I think they’re playing at another level to be
honest with you. I’m sure surprised they went to overtime
with Georgetown today.”
Albany midfielder Brian Caufield, who missed the second half of
last season with a broken jaw, left the game Saturday after the
second quarter with what Marr described as a bruised shoulder. Marr
said Caufield’s status for Tuesday’s game against
Syracuse is uncertain but he doesn't expect the senior to be
sidelined for long.
Bonitatibus did not play in the fourth quarter due to an
unspecified injury, although he did not appear visibly hurt after
the game. His status for Tuesday’s game is also
uncertain.
"Staying healthy is the key to any sport. You’ve got to have
your best players on the field,” Marr said. “Hopefully
we can get these guys back in the lineup.”
Marr said this Albany team reminds him of previous Great Danes
championship teams he has coached. Albany won the America East
championship from 2003-2005 and in 2007.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence, but we don’t
want to get our heads too big because we want to keep this
going,” Miles Thompson said.
The Danes will get their chance to keep it going in a big way on
Tuesday at the Carrier Dome.
