cwdickens

At the same time this evening SUNY-Cortland will be playing for the DIII Football Championship COLLEGE FOOTBALL Burgess, Capone help power Cortland Players are two of seven Section II athletes set to play North Central for Div. III crown By Mark Singelais Courtesy of Larry Radloff/d3photography.com SUNY Cortland running back Ashton Capone of Saratoga Springs has rushed for 579 yards and 13 touchdowns entering Friday’s Division III national championship game vs. North Central in Salem, Va. SUNY Cortland football teammates Cole Burgess and Ashton Capone are used to a big stage. Burgess, a wide receiver from Chatham, and Capone, a running back from Saratoga Springs, played in front of more than 40,000 fans at Yankee Stadium last year and in excess of 45,000 at MetLife Stadium in 2019. Neither game went their way, losses to rival Ithaca in the Cortaca Jug Game. But seeing the two largest crowds in Division III football history left a lifelong impression. “It was an unreal experience,” Burgess said. “As a kid growing up in Greenwich, New York, playing football next to a corn field, going to MetLife Stadium and then the mecca of sporting stadiums, Yankee Stadium, and playing in front of the biggest crowds in Division III history, it’s actually wild that’s where Cortland and Ithaca are at this point. I’m glad I was a part of it.” Burgess and Capone, both fifth-year seniors, return to the spotlight on Friday night. They can go out as national champions with a victory over North Central (Ill.) in the Stagg Bowl, the Division III national championship game in Salem Va. Kickoff is 7 p.m. on ESPNU. They’re among seven Section II graduates on Cortland’s travel roster for the game at 7,157-seat Salem Stadium. The others are senior tight end Jeff Halusic of Niskayuna, sophomore offensive lineman Jake Hromada of Hudson, sophomore linebacker David Romer of Columbia, freshman defensive back Anthony Luciano of Shaker and freshman linebacker Aidan Lochner of Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk. The Red Dragons (13-1) earned their spot with a 49-14 rout of Randolph-Macon last Saturday in Ashland, Va. “Obviously, the emotions are high right now,” Capone said. “We just came off a big win down there in Virginia and we’re looking to go back. This is surreal. Not many people get this opportunity and I’m just grateful to be in the spot I am with the players I’m with and this team.” The semifinal victory was extra sweet for Cortland, which avenged a 35-28 loss at Randolph Macon in the first round a year ago. “As a senior, I know the feeling of walking off that field last year and it didn’t sit right,” Capone said. Burgess and Capone enter the Stagg Bowl as key contributors to Cortland’s offense, which ranks eighth in the country at 46.8 points per game. Burgess leads the Red Dragons with 76 receptions for 1,241 yards and 14 touchdowns. Capone is third on the Red Dragons with 579 rushing yards and second with 13 touchdowns. The irony isn’t lost on Burgess that he’s only on this team because of a mistake he made three years ago. He and his house-mates threw a Halloween party in violation of COVID-19 guidelines. Burgess was suspended for two semesters and didn’t play in the 2021 season. While he was suspended, Burgess lived with friends in Albany and bussed tables at Delmonico’s in Clifton Park. The silver lining was a remaining year of eligibility this season because he sat out 2021. “Through all the bad stuff that was going on, I was staying positive and told my mom that everything happens for a reason,” Burgess said. “At the time, I didn’t know what the reason was going to be. Now that I’m here, that’s clearly the reason. I mean, playing in the national championship is the furthest that Cortland’s ever gone and it’s fun.” Cortland, which has never won a national title, is the first New York team to reach the Stagg Bowl since Ithaca won it in 1991. Union reached the title game in 1983 and 1989, but lost both times. To earn the prize, Cortland must beat defending national champion North Central, which leads the nation in scoring at 60.1 points per game. “It’s obviously a challenge, but we love challenges,” Capone said. “This is definitely a great team. We’re not looking past any opponent. Never have. This is definitely one that would really put an end to my career here at Cortland. I’d love to go out on a win and that’s exactly what we expect to do.” AMOS ALONZO STAGG BOWL When: 7 p.m. Friday Where: Salem (Va.) Stadium TV: ESPNU

UALBANY FOOTBALL Danes embrace underdog role South Dakota State favored by 20 1/2 points over UAlbany in semi By Mark Singelais UAlbany athletic communications UAlbany wide receiver Brevin Easton, whose team will be a big underdog Friday at No. 1 South Dakota State, said the Great Danes “definitely like to wake up people that are sleeping on us.” Jim Franco/Times Union archive UAlbany coach Greg Gattuso said it’s “disappointing” to be scheduled to play on a Friday night in South Dakota after winning last Saturday in Idaho, but ‘if anybody can handle it, it’s us.” The University at Albany football team enters the biggest game in program history Friday night, a matchup outsiders give the Great Danes little chance of winning. UAlbany is a 20 1 /2-point underdog in its Football Championship Subdivision playoff semifinal at defending national champion South Dakota State, which is on a 27-game winning streak. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. The doubters don’t bother UAlbany coach Greg Gattuso and his players, who have already overcome modest expectations to reach the FCS final four for the first time. The Great Danes were picked to finish 11th in their own league, the Coastal Athletic Association. “I don’t think they need any convincing,” Gattuso said. “I think we believe in ourselves. Of course, we’re going to be underdogs in the game. People have asked me about the (Las Vegas) line and all that stuff. We’ve got to play our game. We’ve lived by ‘Always us, never them,’ so we’re not going to change this week. We stayed in routine. We’re doing what we normally do. We’re loose and we’re going to go play the best football team at our level.” It’s the first all-time meeting between No. 5 seed UAlbany (11-3) and No. 1 South Dakota State (13-0), located in Brookings, S.D. The Great Danes left by charter on Thursday afternoon for their fourth flight of the season and second in less than a week. They won at Idaho 30-22 last Saturday in a quarterfinal. Now they’re playing for an appearance in the FCS championship game Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas. “It means everything,” UAlbany senior defensive end Anton Juncaj said. “Everybody used to talk about it in the (training) camp, ‘We’re going to win the conference,’ and all this and to see it really coming to light has been tremendous.” They’ll enter South Dakota State’s Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, which seats a capacity of approximately 19,300. The Jackrabbits average 16,204 fans per home game and carry a 20-game home winning streak into Friday’s contest. “It’s a lot of fun,” South Dakota State All-American quarterback Mark Gronowski said of the atmosphere. “You can really feel it, even in town. The day before the game, leading up to the game, all day. When the game starts, it’s always rocking in there. Everyone’s always juiced up. It may not always be 20,000 in there during the playoffs, just because of how cold it is, but the real fans really come out to show and they get really loud and it feels like there’s 20,000 in there.” UAlbany picked up its first win outside the Eastern time zone at Idaho and will try to do it for a second straight week. They’ll do it with a shorter week of preparation. The Great Danes are playing their first Friday game that’s not a season-opener since 2010. “I was really disappointed when we played across on the West Coast and to play the late game and then be forced into a Friday night game is tough,” Gattuso said. “It’s just one more piece of adversity that we have to rally around. If anybody can handle it, it’s us.” The Great Danes turned around their program after going 5-17 the past two seasons. They’ve built a dynamic offense led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Reese Poffenbarger and a defense that leads the nation in sacks and rushing defense. Now they have another obstacle to overcome as a decided underdog against a South Dakota State team that has Gronowski, rugged running back Isaiah Davis and the FCS’ top-ranked defense. “We try to use it to our advantage,” UAlbany senior wide receiver Brevin Easton said. “If teams are overlooking us or underestimating us, we definitely like to wake up people that are sleeping on us. We’re not scared of anyone. We played Baylor last year, they were a Top 10 team. We’ve played Marshall this year, Hawaii. We’ve done a lot of different things, so it’s just another game, honestly.” UALBANY AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE When: 7 p.m. Friday Where: Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, Brookings, S.D. TV/Radio: ESPN2, WTMM 104.5 FM

Imagine this team without Helene Haegerstrand., that being said, the wear and tear of the season my catch up to the team by the playoffs.

Thank you for refreshing my memory for the price change from 2023 to 2024, which is $18.75 to $20.00 per match, representing a 6.7% increase.

I have a problem with the pricing of season tickets this year. 2024 Pricing (Gold seats) $100.00 for 5 home matches vs $150.00 for 10 home matches in 2023. This represents a 33% increase in the per seat cost of a game ticket from year to year. Does this price increase come with guaranteed 5-0 home record? Absolute Bull $#%&.

Date Time At Opponent Location TV Radio Tournament Result Links February 9, 2024 (Friday) 2:00 PM Home Johns Hopkins Albany, N.Y. / John Fallon Field History February 13, 2024 (Tuesday) 4:00 PM Away Boston College Chestnut Hill, Mass. History February 17, 2024 (Saturday) 1:00 PM Away Fairfield Fairfield, Conn. History February 20, 2024 (Tuesday) 2:00 PM Home Brown Albany, N.Y. / John Fallon Field History February 25, 2024 (Sunday) 12:00 PM Away James Madison Harrisonburg, Va. History March 2, 2024 (Saturday) 3:00 PM Away Colgate Hamilton, N.Y. History March 10, 2024 (Sunday) 2:00 PM Away Northwestern Evanston, Ill. History March 16, 2024 (Saturday) 2:00 PM Home Binghamton Albany, N.Y. / John Fallon Field History March 19, 2024 (Tuesday) 4:00 PM Away Syracuse Syracuse, N.Y. History March 23, 2024 (Saturday) 12:00 PM Away Vermont Burlington, Vt. History March 30, 2024 (Saturday) 12:00 PM Home Bryant Albany, N.Y. / John Fallon Field History April 6, 2024 (Saturday) 12:00 PM Away UMBC Baltimore, Md. History April 13, 2024 (Saturday) 1:00 PM Home UConn Albany, N.Y. / John Fallon Field History April 20, 2024 (Saturday) 12:00 PM Home UMass Lowell Albany, N.Y. / John Fallon Field History April 23, 2024 (Tuesday) 4:00 PM Home Le Moyne Albany, N.Y. / John Fallon Field History April 27, 2024 (Saturday) 1:00 PM Away New Hampshire Durham, N.H. History May 3, 2024 (Friday) Neutral Semifinals America East Tournament History May 5, 2024 (Sunday) Neutral Finals America East Tournament History

With the 2024 Division I lacrosse schedules rolling in, check out the Inside Lacrosse calendar now as the full regular season slate continues to near completion! Men's DI Schedules | Women's DI Schedules

Was at the game, I thought we go sloppy towards the end.

From the Instagram account of grey_danes_nil: grayed_danes_nil This weekend six of our Canadien UAlbany student athletes will be heading to Calgary to help out at a series of lacrosse clinics. These just aren’t any clinics - they will be working with kids with special needs and kids on the Tsuut’ina Nation. We have designed a program that allows us to provide these NIL opportunities to our international students - something no other NIL lacrosse Collective has done - to help defer the additional tuition costs. We are hoping to expand this program to Toronto next year with the assistance of our amazing partners at Lacrossing Barriers. We have a great group heading out on Friday including this gem of a human being - sophomore midfielder Emma Torkoff. Stay tuned…

Better than that FCS Football Coach of the Year!!! The man in charge 💪 Greg Gattuso is the FCS Football Central Coach of the Year 👏 #UAUKNOW #WinTheDay 🟪🟨

UAlbany getting lapped?! Binghamton Upgrades In the Fall semester 2023 had an increase of their Freshmen Class and undergraduate students overall, Binghamton cannot say the same thing.

Based on this, UAlbany can expect 2 out of conference home matches and 3 conference home matches in 2024. Dslyank's concerns about the schedule imbalance is valid.

Out of Conference matches identified: Colgate (H) 02-17-2024 Penn (A) 02-20-2024 Drexal (A) 02-24-2024 UMass-Amherst (A) 03-02-2024 Hobart (H) 03-09-2024 Virginia (A) 03-19-2024 Yale (A) 04-20-2024 * * Tentative (see bob87 comment below) Home Conference matches: Vermont Bryant Binghamton The Great Danes will not play Cornell as part of the Out of Conference and the Syracuse, Yale and Maryland schedules are not available at this time however based on reports, we will not play these teams as part of the out of conference schedule.

Despite the efforts of a couple of people close to the program, Scott Marr is maintaining his status as being one of the last D1 coaches to release his team's schedule.

America East Conference 2023-24 Women's Basketball Standings 2023-24 Women's Basketball Standings SCHOOL CONF CPCT. OVERALL PCT. STREAK UAlbany 0-0 .000 7-2 .778 W3 Maine 0-0 .000 6-4 .600 W2 Vermont 0-0 .000 6-5 .545 L1 Bryant 0-0 .000 5-5 .500 W2 NJIT 0-0 .000 5-5 .500 L2 New Hampshire 0-0 .000 5-6 .455 L1 Binghamton 0-0 .000 2-8 .200 L6 UMBC 0-0 .000 2-8 .200 L1 UMass Lowell 0-0 .000 0-9 .000 L9

The NWS weather forecast for Brookings, SD: Friday-Mostly sunny, with a high near 44. Friday Night-Partly cloudy, with a low around 22.

When I saw that clip before kickoff, I thought he doomed his team. If he had really packed his bags, do think he will unpack them any time soon.

How the MBB teams stack up in the pre-conference win-loss record: SCHOOL CONF CPCT. OVERALL PCT. STREAK Vermont 0-0 .000 8-3 .727 L1 Maine 0-0 .000 8-4 .667 W4 UMass Lowell 0-0 .000 6-3 .667 L1 Binghamton 0-0 .000 6-4 .600 W2 New Hampshire 0-0 .000 6-4 .600 L1 UAlbany 0-0 .000 6-4 .600 L1 Bryant 0-0 .000 6-5 .545 L1 UMBC 0-0 .000 5-7 .417 L2 NJIT 0-0 .000 2-7 .222 L1

This is a most competitive UAlbany team in a few years, like how they fought on to the end and Killings looks comfortable on the sidelines. I say "Bring on the America East" and watch out Vermont and UMass-Lowell.

Went to bed after 2:00 AM on Sunday.

$iena may still believe, however the lopsided losses continue.... ST. BONAVENTURE 89, SIENA 56 Saints routed again By Mark Singelais Stephen Weaver/Special to the Times Union Siena’s Michael Eley, shown against Holy Cross earlier this season, had six points in his return from a sprained ankle in Saturday's loss at St. Bonaventure. A lopsided defeat at St. Bonaventure’s Reilly Center isn’t unusual for the Siena men’s basketball program. A blowout loss just about anywhere has become the norm for this year’s team. St. Bonaventure graduate guard Mika Adams-Woods scored 23 points on 9-of-9 shooting as the Bonnies stomped the Saints 89-56 Saturday to take back the Franciscan Cup. In its last three trips to Reilly Center, Siena lost by 42 points in 2018, 28 points in 2021and 33 on Saturday. The Saints (2-8) suffered their fifth loss this season by 20 or more points and fourth by greater than 30. “I’m not sure if we think we’re good,” Siena head coach Carmen Maciariello said on 96.3 FM after the game. “We show up and we can compete for a time and then we say, ‘Oh, OK, I know what this is about.’ And then they punch you in the mouth and we don’t respond.’ Siena is off until a Dec. 19 game against Cornell at MVP Arena. “These guys, the ones that want to compete, will compete and they’ll play,” Maciariello said later in a video provided by Siena athletic communication. “If there’s guys that can’t compete or can’t cut it, they don’t have to play ... I think they all have the ability to compete. I think sometimes things happen where they don’t want to battle through certain situations.” Maciariello made his team stay on the court and watch St. Bonaventure celebrate with the Franciscan Cup, which Siena won 76-70 in Albany last year. “We’re going to watch,” Maciariello said. “I had two cups in my office earlier in November. I don’t have any more cups in my office. It’s not acceptable.” Siena lost the Albany Cup to the University at Albany 86-51on Nov. 26 at MVP Arena. The return of Michael Eley from a sprained ankle gave the Saints a brief lift. He made his first two jumpers and scored six points as the Saints took an 11-9 lead with 14:46 remaining in the first half. But St. Bonaventure dominated the remainder of the half to take a 46-25 halftime lead. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I had a little quicker sub for certain guys when they’re not doing things they’re supposed to do,” Maciariello said. “We can want to win every nonconference game. If this team is going to win the MAAC, they have to understand how they have to play and understand what they have to do, day in and day out.” Eley finished with six pointson3-of-13shooting,including 0-of-7 on 3-pointers. Michael Evbagharu and Mason Courtney led Siena with nine points each. Chad Venning added 20 points for St. Bonaventure of the Atlantic 10, which improved to 7-2. Adams-Woods is 20-of-21 from the field and 9-for-9 from 3-point range over his last two games. Siena, ranked 362nd and last in Division I in NCAA NET Ranking, entered the game as a 221/2-point underdog.

UALBANY 49, MARIST 39 Danes rally past Marist By Pete Dougherty Stephen Weaver/Special to the Times Union Deja Evans of UAlbany has her shot blocked during a game against Marist on Saturday. The Danes picked it up in the fourth quarter to pull out a win. ALBANY — Defense in basketball generally isn’t pretty, but it has become the calling card for the University at Albany women’s team, which gutted its way to another victory Saturday afternoon. Trailing at halftime and after three quarters, UAlbany outscored Marist 19-6 in the fourth period to beat the Red Foxes 49-39 in a nonconference game at Broadview Center. In winning their third straight, the Great Danes (7-2) held the opponent to fewer than 40 points for a second straight game. Their 51.3 points allowed per game ranks in the top 20 nationally. “If they were giving out style points today,” coach Colleen Mullen said, “we received zero.” The defensive numbers were impressive. UAlbany held Marist (2-7), which has lost six in a row, to 30 percent shooting and forced 19 turnovers. Four of those were shot-clock violations. Morgan Lee and Maeve Donnelly, the Foxes’ two 6-foot-5 players, were held scoreless until a meaningless bucket with 7.2 seconds to go. “Our goals are usually defensively based,” said graduate forward Helene Haegerstrand. “Every game for us comes down to the defense. That’s our whole motto we work around, so keeping this team to 39 was a huge key for us.” That became especially important because UAlbany, which was averaging 66.1 points per game, was having its own offensive struggles. After Zaria Shazer (10 points, 10 rebounds) scored in the post with 5:04 left to give Marist its last lead at 37-36, the Great Danes suddenly awakened. The Danes went on a 13-0 run, which included seven straight points by Haegerstrand and four by senior Kayla Cooper, who had her second straight double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds. After scoring, UAlbany used its full-court press, and the Foxes were trapped. “We just wore them down,” Mullen said. “Our players are experienced. Kayla and Hellie (Haegerstrand) have been through a lot, and they know how to win. When the game was on the line, you could see the fire in Kayla’s eyes. You can’t coach that. That’s not me. That’s her fire and her intensity. “Everybody else jumped on board, and she led us to that win.” It was the lowest-scoring UAlbany game since last year’s America East championship game, which the Great Danes lost 38-36 at Vermont. “At one point I just got confident, and my teammates had a lot of faith in me,” Cooper said. “That gave me a lot of energy.” “Coach kept saying we were fine,” said Haegerstrand, who finished with 13 points. “We just needed to take a breath and get the (defensive) stops we needed. We knew we could defend them if we kept communicating, and we knew Kayla was on fire.” UAlbany continues its three-game homestand Tuesday night against Dartmouth. “This (7-2) record doesn’t matter,” Mullen said. “It’s not going to get us to our ultimate goal, to get to the NCAA Tournament. It needs to be able to challenge us, and this game challenged us. We were down. We had to come back. We had to execute down the stretch. All those things are teaching you and preparing you for the conference play.” Notes: Graduate guard Fatima Lee did not dress for a second straight game for what Mullen said was a “coach’s decision.” … UAlbany had only nine available players, as freshman Hailee Ford sat out because of an illness.

The Big Green are 3-4 with a game against Merrimack today, a notable big loss to Vermont. Dec 12 (Tue) 7:00 PM vs Dartmouth Albany, N.Y. Broadview Center ESPN+ Int'l Video Live Stats Tickets History

Based on Flightaware data, the plane that flew our team to the game departed the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport at 3:20 AM PST today and is scheduled to arrive in Albany International Airport at 12:24 PM EST (Now scheduled to arrive 11:39 AM EST, the plane has departed KSLC). The plane has made a technical stop at Salt Lake City for fuel and catering pick up. Some of the University staff and others that accompanied the team had cause to come back to Albany, whether that included the team, do not know.

Just realize the time .... did Guttuso just state team was not coming back to Albany, heading to Brookings SD in the morning.