Danes’ standout making return
Resetarits on roster of team that is moving to Albany for NLL season
Joe Resetarits excelled for the University at Albany lacrosse program, even when the Great Danes were going through a rare down cycle.
He made first-team all-conference three times and honorable mention All-american once from 2009 to 2012, while the Great Danes went 22-39 and didn’t reach a single NCAA Tournament.
“Yeah, it was some tough years,” said Resetarits, the America East Player of the Year in 2012. “We had the talent, that’s for sure. Coach (Scott) Marr brought in some great players. We ran into some injuries, and in hindsight, I think when we were losing, we took it the wrong way. Instead of trying to fix it, the negativity played a big effect on that team. But it was still the best four years of my life. I met some of my best friends and some of the best memories I’ll ever have were thanks to going to Albany.”
Now he gets to return to the Capital Region. Resetarits is the lone Ualbany graduate on the roster of the National Lacrosse League franchise that relocated from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., to Times Union Center last week. They’ll open their season in December. “It’s going to be fun,” he said. Resetarits, 31, is entering his ninth season of professional indoor lacrosse. He has had stints with Calgary, Rochester, Buffalo and spent the past two years with the New England Black Wolves, who played at Mohegan Sun.
“He’s a top scorer in the league, but he’s low to zero maintenance,” Albany NLL coach Glenn Clark said. “He does his job. He’s good with teammates, good with fans, good with ownership. He’s an easy player to have in your room and contributes to that overall climate and culture you want to develop on your team.”
Resetarits, a Buffalo-area native who still lives there, has established himself as one of the best American players in the indoor game, typically dominated by Canadians. He went over the border and played junior indoor box lacrosse as a youth.
A 5-foot-11, 188-pound forward, Resetarits has scored 186 goals and 434 points during his NLL career, showing the same knack for the net that he did in field lacrosse for Ualbany.
He had nothing but praise for Marr, who has taken Ualbany to 10 NCAA Tournaments, includ
ing a Final Four in 2018. Resetarits’ brother, Frank, was on the Great Danes’ first team to reach the NCAA quarterfinals in 2007.
“I had the luxury of playing for coach Marr for four years and everyone who’s played for him says the same thing, how great a person and how great a coach he is,” Joe Resetarits said. “And what he’s done with the program, it’s so much fun to watch how they keep excelling each year and the sky’s the limit for that program. It’s going to be fun to go back to where I spent a fun part of my life.”
Resetarits said he looks forward to visiting the campus and
seeing Casey Stadium, which wasn’t completed when he graduated. He remembers spending time at the Across The Street Pub near the Ualbany campus.
“That’s a place that I went that I’ll probably hit up once I get back,” he said. “That’s the closest to Buffalo-type wings I’ve had at any place I’ve went. On my recruiting trip, coach Marr took me there, and every Sunday I went there because you didn’t get the Bills games being Albany, so they had the games, so I went there every Sunday and watched football and ate wings.”
Will the Capital Region have the same appetite for indoor lacrosse? The NLL already failed here once as the Albany Attack moved to San Jose, Calif., after averaging just 3,689 fans per
game at TU Center in their fourth and final season in 2003.
Resetarits said he thinks this team can succeed because of the
team’s front office and the appeal of indoor lacrosse, played on a smaller field with fewer players than the outdoor game. He travels to games on weekends after working his full-time job in specialty construction during the week.
“The first thing that comes to mind is it’s similar to hockey — not on skates, not on ice, but the same type of contact,” he said. “There’s fighting, it’s fast, up and down. … It’s very high-scoring. It’s amazing just how momentum switches. It’s a fun, entertaining game for people who haven’t watched it. I think for the people in the city of Albany, they’re going to enjoy it a lot.”