After trailing by as many as five goals on Saturday, the Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team used a huge second half surge to push past Albany 10-9, securing the team’s fourth consecutive win. UMass (4-1) used an 8-2 run in the second half to deal the Great Danes (1-3) a heartbreaking defeat.
This was the first game of the season for the Gorillas that truly came down to the final seconds. After trailing for the entire game, UMass took its first lead of the afternoon with just 1:50 remaining.
On the play that gave the Minutemen the lead, Aiden Drunsic operated from far behind to the left of the cage with the shot clock dwindling down. The junior dished a pass inside to Trace Hogan, who ripped what would be the game-winning goal into the back of the net. Hogan lifted both arms in the air in celebration after scoring to give UMass the lead.
After Hogan’s late-game heroics, the Minutemen still needed to close out the game. A critical pushing penalty on Brady Hoff that left UMass frustrated and confused gave Albany a huge man-up opportunity to try and tie the game. Ultimately, an errant pass and turnover by Brendan O’Keefe and a subsequent successful clear by the Minutemen sealed the win.
Freshman Owen Salanger, who remains unbeaten in his starts at goalie, made some critical stops for UMass on Saturday. Salanger came into the game fifth in the nation in goals against average, allowing only 6.88 goals per 60 minutes. Against the Great Danes, the freshman finished with 13 saves for the third time this season. With three minutes left in a tie game, Daniel Kesselring put a shot on goal that was saved by Salanger, a critical stop for the Minutemen late in the tight affair.
It didn’t seem like UMass’ day early on, as Albany came out of the gates with the first three goals of the game. With a little under three minutes left in the first quarter, Zach Auble came down the field in transition and passed the ball to Hogan, who put it into the back of the net for the Minutemen’s first score of the day. However, that opening period came to a disastrous end for Greg Cannella’s squad as the Great Danes put the ball in play with 2.3 seconds left and scored at the buzzer to go up 5-1.
Trailing 7-2 at halftime, the Gorillas mounted a big second half comeback. The third quarter was crucial in getting UMass back into striking distance, with Drunsic recording two tallies in the frame. The Exeter, N.H. native got the third quarter scoring started by taking the ball from behind the goal, dodging around the crease and turning to fire a shot into the net.
With the game back in range entering the fourth, the Minutemen put their foot on the gas. UMass did significant damage, scoring half of its 10 goals in the final frame. The Gorillas received major contributions from several players late, which ultimately put them on top.
Matthew Cargiulo, Robbie Granara, Charles Kurtz, John Krisch and Hogan all scored for the Minutemen, with Drunsic, Kurtz and Hogan finishing with two goals apiece. Granara also dished out a career-high three assists.
UMass will return to action on Saturday, March 8 as it continues its road trip at Vermont. Face-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. in Burlington.
Marco Lopez can be reached at [email protected].
