Great Danes knock Pios out in NCAA quarterfinals
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.» The much-anticipated faceoff matchup between Denver star Trevor Baptiste and Albany’s TD Ierlan was even in Saturday’s NCAA men’s lacrosse quarterfinals.
The Pioneers weren’t so fortunate when it came to the game itself.
Second-seeded Albany used a balanced offense to earn its first trip to the semifinals, defeating unseeded Denver 15-13 at Shuart Stadium.
Baptiste was 15-of-30 against Ierlan, as the matchup of faceoff aces lived up to its billing. Baptiste, a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award for the most outstanding player, scored a goal in his final career game.
Colton Jackson matched a career high with four goals and Joe Reid added three for the Pioneers (13-4), who erased an early three-goal hole but could never slow down the potent Great Danes (16-2) for an extended stretch.
“It seemed like every time we got close, they’d answer with a goal or two,” Pioneers coach Bill Tierney said.
After Jackson’s fourth goal brought Denver within 12-11 with 8:46 to go, Denver went offside and Albany milked the clock for more than a minute before taking the 30-second penalty. The Great Danes took advantage as Jakob Patterson scored off a Connor Fields feed. Albany added two more to make it 15-11, providing a cushion when Denver scored twice in the final minute.
Sean Eccles, Kyle Mcclancy, Tehoka Nanticoke and Patterson all scored three goals for the Great Danes, who will meet thirdseeded Yale (15-3) in next Saturday’s semifinals.
COLLEGE LACROSSE
Maryland (13-3) vs. Cornell (13-4), 10 a.m. Johns Hopkins (12-4) vs. Duke (14-3), 12:30 p.m. Maryland-cornell winner vs. Johns Hopkins-duke winner, 10 a.m. or 12:30 p.m. Yale vs. Albany, 10 a.m. or 12:30 p.m. Semifinal winners, 11 a.m.