May 21, 2018
The best NCAA Quarterfinal game and best atmosphere was Albany’s 15-13 victory over Denver on Saturday in Hempstead, N.Y. It clinched Albany’s first trip to Championship Weekend. There will be excitement on the menu: Albany’s fans filled two sections of Shuart Stadium despite the rain and chilly temperatures. The mind boggles at what might greet the teams on Saturday, given Albany’s campus is less than three hours from Gillette Stadium and the early weather forecast is warm but dry.
The ringleader is Scott Marr, part coach and part carnival barker. Come see the team that uses offensive players on defense! Step right up for a look at the longstick midfielder with four goals in the NCAA Tournament! And as a bonus if you follow us on social media you can see me playing some wicked air guitar!
Yet behind the fun are more than a little tactical nous and some sharp assistant coaches. On Saturday Albany led 13-11 with less than five minutes to play yet was facing a timer-on situation. Marr called timeout with 15 seconds left on the shot clock.
On the other end of the field, Denver’s offense had found its rhythm. The best face-off specialist in the sport’s history was waiting for opportunities to get them the ball and prolong his own career. A two-goal deficit was not much.
But a three-goal deficit would be. And coming out of the timeout, senior Kyle McClancy went to the ball and waited for the referee’s whistle. As he heard it he sprinted toward the goal and scored.
The fans erupted and the players formed several mosh pits of happiness. Amidst the giddiness, Marr and offensive coordinator Merrick Thomson shared a no-eye-contact fist bump. The play they called in the huddle had worked.
The busloads of Albany fans — and yes, there were buses full of them — were undeterred by the rain and cold. They filled two full sections. And they were there to cheer.
The period after goals was filled with chants of “T-D!” clap-clap, “T-D!” clap-clap. It was an homage to sophomore TD Ierlan, the face-off specialist. He was doing battle with senior Trevor Baptiste, who will find out in a few days if he is one of only a handful of players in the sport’s history to be named first-team All-American four times.
Each won 15 face-offs. Each also broke one stick. It was the sport’s “Yanny vs. Laurel,” and like the online audio sensation, the answer Saturday was split down the middle.
But the fans cheered more than the face-off battle. This includes clapping during a timeout in the fourth quarter when senior Connor Fields went to the sideline to grab a lacrosse ball to test out his stick.
The ringleader in the stands was a large man in a work uniform. Every Albany goal was met with running high-fives. Every Denver possession was met with a request for more noise to distract the potent offense.
Adding to the happy chaos were a father and son. The father celebrated every goal not by cheering but instead by lifting his young son out of his wheelchair and giving him a happy hoist in the air. His son, for his part, wore a purple Albany T-shirt and sunglasses. He was dressed for the weather he wanted, not the weather he got.
The fans were knowledgeable too. The Great Danes led 12-11 early in the fourth quarter and had an extra-man opportunity. Sophomore Jakob Patterson escaped Denver’s notice and was wide open a few yards in front of the goal. Fields, with the ball in his stick and 49 assists this year to his credit, did not immediately spot it.
But the fans did; they screamed about the open player, a more desperate version of an off-stage play moderator reminding an actor of a forgotten line. Fields became alert to Denver’s mistake and passed to Patterson. Patterson shot and scored.
The much-anticipated Final Four berth was becoming a reality. And in the bedlam in the stands, a father bent down to his son’s wheelchair, picked up his son and gave him one more joyful piggyback ride.
The second quarterfinal resembled a revival meeting. In keeping with the theme, the first — between Loyola and Yale — was played in biblical rains.
The game-within-the-game featured two of the best attackmen in the game, Loyola junior Pat Spencer and Yale senior Ben Reeves. Tall, smart and athletic, the pair had seen every defense imaginable and roasted them all.
But Mother Nature proved a different opponent. The game featured a hot start; five goals in the opening six minutes. At that point Loyola coach Charley Toomey said he was expecting a final score of 20-18.
But heavy rains and ironclad defenses conspired to turn the game into a quagmire. Spencer went scoreless for the final 37 minutes 58 seconds. Reeves went scoreless for more than 38 minutes before his goal with 1:29 to play sealed Yale’s first Championship Weekend trip since 1990.
The game turned because of Yale’s defense, especially senior Christopher Keating and freshman Chris Fake. Loyola’s second and third options on offense — senior Jay Drapeau and freshman Kevin Lindley — entered with a combined 78 goals. On Saturday, Drapeau played 14 shifts as a midfielder, plus several more on attack and extra-man offense. He finished with no goals and only two shots. Lindley also was held without a goal while taking two shots. Loyola tried to use both as attackmen and midfielders. But Yale always found them.
The game was close because of Loyola junior goalie Jacob Stover, who made 19 saves. But the weather may have been the biggest player of the game; in the second half the teams shot a combined 3 for 35.
by Christian Swezey
originally featured here
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