The Massachusetts men's lacrosse team receives partial credit for its second test of the season against No. 2 Albany - the first came in 2007's opening weekend against Hofstra.
UMass lost yesterday, 10-9 in overtime, after fighting back from a 7-0 deficit in the first half. The Great Danes (4-0) were dominant in the first period of play at John Fallon Field, winning five of six faceoffs in the first quarter and out-shooting the visitors 11-5.
The Minutemen (1-3) have now dropped games to the Great Danes in four consecutive seasons. UMass returns home to Garber Field this weekend in a matchup against Brown. The game rounds out the Mass Attack's annual swing through the Ivy League.
A run of five straight goals in the third and fourth quarters brought the Minutemen within one goal at 8-7.
That included three straight goals by sophomore attack Tim Balise. He scored UMass' fourth, fifth and sixth goals, recording one of two Minuteman hat tricks on the afternoon - the other belonged to senior captain Brett Garber.
UMass enjoyed that offensive onslaught without the help of faceoffs in the third quarter. It lost four of five in the third after dominating that category just before halftime (the Minutemen went 4-of-5 in the second quarter).
Frank Resetarits capped his four-goal performance with 9:53 left in the game to pad Albany's lead, 9-7. He now has 14 goals on the young season in just four games played.
But the Minutemen refused to let the contest slip away and kept it tied for the next seven minutes. That's when sophomore attack Jim Connolly continued his hot scoring streak. Albany held him scoreless on the afternoon to that point, but broke out with two goals in the span of a minute.
Connolly's ninth of the season, seventh in the past two games, came with just 2:10 remaining in regulation. His scores in the final minutes covered all areas of the cage. His first beat Albany goaltender Brett Queener inside the right post while the second hit the net on the left side.
However, it didn't take long for the Great Danes to quell the Minutemen's rally - 12 seconds to be precise - with Merrick Thomson notching the game-winner. It was the first of the afternoon for Thomson and beat Schneider directly off a faceoff won by Jordan Levine.
The Albany defense, along with the stellar play of Queener, held the Minutemen scoreless for more than a minute and a half of play to start the game. Queener finished the game with 12 saves (Schneider made eight). The netminder also added his first goal of the season.
When they did finally get on the scoreboard, all the momentum went to the Minutemen. It started with freshman Bobby Hayes's fourth goal of the season with 2:34 remaining in the half. UMass put heavy pressure on Queener from then until the end of the half.
Albany's first of three penalties came with 1:23 to go in the second. On the extra-man opportunity, Connolly pegged Queener in the helmet with a shot and then Rory Pedrick intercepted a clear, but the goalie made the save on a low shot.
Then the Great Danes had another man sent off, putting the Minutemen on the two-man advantage for seven seconds. UMass didn't capitalize with that advantage, but did score just as the first infraction expired. Garber scored his first of the afternoon with 20 seconds left in the half, giving the Minutemen some confidence entering the break.
Jon Pelland can be reached at jpelland@student.umass.edu. Check the Daily Collegian Sports blog at www.dailycollegiansports.blogspot.com for more coverage of UMass sports.
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