ncaa wlax tournament WLAX - Game 19 - NCAA Tournament 1st Round May 12 (Fri) 8:00 PM ET Denver, CO Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium

[cwdickens]

May 12 (Fri) 6 P.M. MT

 

 

Virginia vs. Albany

NCAA First Round

Peter Barton Stadium

TV: ESPN+

• Live Stats
•  
• History

[cwdickens]

As a reminder the host school is the University of Denver.  Their match up is below:

May 12 (Fri) 3 P.M. MT

 

University of Denver

 

vs 

Southern California

NCAA First Round

Peter Barton Stadium

TV: ESPN+

• Live Stats
•  
• History

•  

[cwdickens]

Women's Lacrosse NCAA Team Send Off

Women's Lacrosse Send Off Help us send off the women's lacrosse team in style as the Great Danes prepare to take on Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. To wish the Great Danes luck, stop by SEFCU/PE Circle by 2:15 PM tomorrow, team will depart at 2:30 PM.

[cwdickens]

Tough way to start, the WLAX team arrived at Albany International Airport on time, the charter plane landed shortly after however the plane was held on the tarmac at Albany International Airport for the weather issues at Stapleton International Airport to improve to the point to allow a landing.

[cwdickens]

Today has finally arrived, GAME DAY!!!  Does playing a tough non-conference give the Great Danes an advantage?  Tune in at 8:00 PM ET to ESPN+ for the answer.

UALBANY WOMEN’S LACROSSE

 

Danes set to face Virginia

Tough nonconference schedule has prepared team for postseason

 

By Mark Singelais

Jim Franco / Times Union

UAlbany coach Katie Thomson said her team feels “really good” about facing Virginia after playing a rigorous nonconference schedule.

UAlbany vs. Virginia

■› When: 8 p.m. Friday

■› Where: Peter Barton Stadium, Denver

■› Livestream: ESPN+

ALBANY — The University at Albany women’s lacrosse team tested itself this season with a rigorous nonconference schedule that included losses to Northwestern and Syracuse, the top two seeds in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

The Great Danes will find out if those regular-season tests will help them upset 12th-ranked Virginia at 8 p.m. Friday in a first-round match at the University of Denver.

“They (Virginia) play in the ACC,” UAlbany coach Katie Thomson said. “They play a top schedule every weekend, but we’ve also faced a lot of really good opponents this year, so we’re feeling really good.”

America East champion UAlbany (12-6) played four ranked foes during the regular season. The Great Danes fell at Syracuse 22-5 on March 1 and 21-11 at home to Northwestern on April

8.

The Great Danes also dropped their season opener at No. 20 Johns Hopkins 17-10 on Feb. 12 and came their closest to an upset with a 21-20 defeat at No. 18 Stanford on March 12.

“I think it helps a lot,” senior midfielder Sarah Falk said. “I think it builds our confidence. We were neck-and-neck with Northwestern for half the game and I think we played our hearts out and being able to play against opponents like that is just so special and makes us play better, I think, and lets us know we can compete with those top teams.”

UAlbany is facing Virginia (11-6) for the first time in program history. The Great Danes’ program has never played a game in Colorado. If UAlbany gets past Virginia, it will play either host Denver (19-0) or USC (16-3) at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Thomson said the Great Danes didn’t know what to expect when they gathered for the NCAA selection show last Sunday, just hours after beating Binghamton 14-13 in the America East final.

“We were like, ‘That would be wild if we ended up going to Denver,’ ” Thomson said. “When it came up, we all went crazy because it’s such an exciting moment for our team and our program. It’s somewhere we haven’t been as a team and an opponent we haven’t faced, so it does make it very special and exciting and we’re just eager to spend this extra time together.”

UAlbany is making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2017, when it received an at-large bid. The Great Danes are 1-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, including a 2011 first-round win at Dartmouth.

While this is a new experience for almost the entire Great Danes roster, UAlbany graduate attack Shonly Wallace has played at Denver before. She spent the past three seasons at Oregon and faced Denver at Peter Barton Stadium in 2020.

“Peter Barton’s a historic stadium,” Wallace said. “Definitely some great lacrosse history out there from their men’s team and women’s team. It’s super cool to have the opportunity to go there again. I’m super thankful to have played there and I’m really excited our team gets to experience that and just be somewhere different.”

Wallace said the high altitude of Denver shouldn’t be a big issue and pointed out Virginia has to deal with it, too. She said she’ll remind her teammates to drink plenty of water.

“The excitement of the game is going to get in the way,” she said. “I think we’ll be all right. I’m hydration police already as it is, so being on them again, but I think we’ll adjust fine.”

UAlbany junior midfielder Katie Pascale said the Great Danes will go into Friday with an underdog mentality.

“We haven’t been to an NCAA Tournament in a while, but I mean, we just played a great America East schedule and we had some competitive out-of-conference games,” she said. “We’ve seen the best and we can compete with any team really right now.”

▶› msingelais@- timesunion.com A 518-454-5509 A @MarkSingelais

[cwdickens]

Today's NWS forecast for the area around the University of Denver:

Today

Showers, with thunderstorms also possible after noon. High near 60. Breezy, with a north wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

 

Tonight

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9pm, then a slight chance of showers between 9pm and 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. Breezy, with a north wind 5 to 15 mph becoming south southwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

 

Currently 46 degrees and light rain, I suspect no rain by game time, perhaps some breaks of sun.

Edited May 12, 2023 by cwdickens
update

[UAalum72]

Women score first 3 minutes in, short handed.

How long will it take announcers to learn there’s no “N”  in America East?

[UAalum72]

Down 10-3 early in the third, Albany goes on a 7-1 run to start the 4th quarter down 11-10

[cwdickens]

UAlbany 10-Virginia 11 .... UAlbany scored last three goals.... Is Virginia feeling the effects of the elevation more than UAlbany? 

[alumni '92']

things are getting interesting out in Denver 

[cwdickens]

3 minutes ago, alumni '92' said:

things are getting interesting out in Denver 

at 12-12, yes much so

[UAalum72]

Albany ties it up at 12 with 10:45 left

[alumni '92']

can't ask for much more as "the dog" ... up one vs. an ACC power ... seven minutes and change to go ... I think the team might have taken this scenario if offered pre.game

[cwdickens]

Outscoring Virgina 7-2 over last nine goals in game

[alumni '92']

need to play like it is zero-zero and we need one ... don't rest on the laurels