Albany seeks 1st NCAA lacrosse title, plays Yale today in semifinal match
Albany, N.Y. — It’s been nearly a decade since Albany men’s lacrosse coach Scott Marr made a pivotal decision — to venture into territory historically dominated by perennial power Syracuse University and try to recruit Native American high school stars from upstate New York to play for his Great Danes.
Marr succeeded in luring Miles Thompson and younger brother Lyle and their cousin Ty joined them, and with their amazing skill and creative style of play, the trio quickly transformed the Great Danes into a team to be reckoned with.
The Thompsons and their offensive prowess attracted new fans and interest nationally to the game through television and social media. They also demonstrated there’s a place in the college game for Native American players to hone their skills further and, more importantly, get four years of education and a degree at the same school. The road to college for male Native American players traditionally has been through prep school or junior college.
Many have followed in their footsteps. Zed Williams from the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation in western New York left behind his five brothers and two sisters to attend Virginia, where he starred for four years and graduated a year ago. Zach Miller, of the Allegany Indian Reservation in upstate New York, attended Denver for three seasons and helped lead the Pioneers to a national championship before returning home to be with his family.
Marr, in his 18th season at Albany, remains at the vanguard. He has eight Native Americans on his roster this year, including the top freshman in the nation, Tehoka Nanticoke, who ranks third nationally with 49 goals. Man-up ace Jakob Patterson of the Seneca Nation in western New York is second with 41 goals.
“All of us being here, it’s nice to show our younger kids on the reservations that anything’s possible,” said sophomore midfielder Ron John, another Seneca and always a star on game day in the community center back home. “Seeing that they (the Thompsons) thrived in a college atmosphere on the Division I level, how much trust they had in the coach, that was a huge factor.”
Miles and Lyle Thompson became the first Native American players to capture college lacrosse’s highest individual honor, the Tewaaraton Award (they shared it 2014 and Lyle won it the next year as a senior). However, they never managed to lead Albany to a Final Four, coming tantalizingly close four years ago in an overtime loss to Notre Dame in the quarterfinals.
The Great Danes (16-2) have finally broken through this year, and second seed Albany will face Ivy League rival Yale (15-3), the third seed, in today’s semifinals at Gillette Stadium outside Boston. Top-seeded and defending national champion Maryland (14-3) plays No. 4 Duke (15-3) in the other matchup.
“I think it (Albany’s appearance) is an important piece of our game. This is a national stage. I think it’s a perfect time for them,” said Yale coach Andy Shay, whose Bulldogs handed the Great Danes their second loss this season. “People that don’t know that much about lacrosse turn on the TV and they see not only great players, but dynamic players, interesting players, their flowing play. You understand what the game means to them.”