Sports Talk
By Brian DePasquale
Men’s Lacrosse Stays Unbeaten in America East Play
Junior attackman Chris Driscoll scored the go-ahead goal midway through the fourth quarter to lift Albany to a 7-5 America East Conference victory over Vermont on April 20 at Varsity Field. The Great Danes, who stayed unbeaten in America East play, clinched home field for the conference tournament’s semifinal round (May 1).

Vermont (4-8, AE 0-4) used a ball-control offense and stingy defense to tie the contest at five apiece with 3:09 remaining in the third quarter. Sophomore Mark Prior scored his second goal of the game from the left side off a feed from Thomas Hajek.

Driscoll put Albany (7-6, AE 4-0) ahead for good with 9:39 to play, as he split two defenders and fired a shot between the legs of UVM goalkeeper Michael Gabel. Christopher Preble gave his team some breathing room three minutes later, when he drove and ripped a shot into the top right corner. The Great Danes limited the visitors to three shots in the final period.

R.J. Harrison, who had two goals and one assist, drew the Catamounts even at 4-4 with 4:33 left in the second period. But Driscoll, who had two goals, including his 27th of the season, gave his club a halftime lead by converting an underhanded shot at the top of the crease with 26 seconds to play.

Freshman Brendan Russell had two goals, while goalkeeper Kevin Rae made 14 saves for the Great Danes, who have won five of their last six starts and will play at Hartford for America East’s regular-season title on April 27.

Track & Field Teams Compete at State University Centers Meet
Brandon Howlett won the discus with an IC4A-qualifying mark, and his team had six individual champions at the State University Centers Track & Field Championship on April 20 at Bingham-ton University’s East Gym Track Complex.

Howlett, a sophomore, threw 157 feet, 6 inches to win the competition and earn a place at the IC4A championships in May. Paul Roche was first in the 110-meter high hurdles in 15.19 seconds, and took second in the long jump with a leap of 21 feet, 5 inches.

The Great Danes, who captured second in the team standings behind Buffalo, had four other first-place finishers. Freshman Kristof Molnar ran 1:53.72 to win the 800-meter run, while Tim Best won the javelin with a toss of 167-6.50. Sheldon Gomes and Naron Stewart had winning marks in the triple jump and high jump, respectively. Gomes went 44-7.75, while Stewart cleared the bar in 6-6.75.

Albany was third in the women’s team competition. Tequirra Cox placed second in the 100-meter dash (12.42) and was third in the 200 (25.73). Ashley Kangas threw 104 feet, 4.25 inches to finish second in the javelin.

Diane Matthews, Nicole Susser, and Natasha Bermudez also garnered three-place showings in their respective events. Matthews went 2:18.64 in the 800, while Susser ran 19:02.86 in the 5,000. Bermudez established a school record in the hammer throw with a mark of 142-7.

Brand Chosen in United States Basketball League Draft
Will Brand was selected in the United States Basketball League Draft by the Adirondack Wildcats on April 9. Brand, who recently finished his collegiate career ranked eighth on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,405 points, was chosen in the eighth round.

Brand, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound forward, averaged 10.2 points and 5.2 rebounds in UAlbany’s first season as a member of the America East Conference in 2001-02. He earned third-team all-conference recognition and was the first three-time captain in the program’s history.

Brand, who ranks tenth on the all-time rebounding list, is the only player in school history to combine for more than 1,400 points, 650 rebounds, 225 assists and 125 steals in a career. He established a UAlbany record for career games played with 112.

Adirondack will play a 30-game schedule that runs through June 23. The Glens Falls (N.Y.) Civic Center is the Wildcats’ home arena and seats capacity crowds of 5,475 for basketball.

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