Great Danes Honor Hometown Heroes as Fall Sports Commence
ALBANY, N.Y. (Sept. 10, 2024) — The football team is set to honor its hometown heroes in its next home game on Sept. 28, as the fall sports season kicks into high gear at UAlbany. The game is one of many upcoming competitions featuring the Great Danes, including volleyball, cross country, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s golf.
Football Aims for NCAA FCS Tournament
The football team, which took home a share of the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title in 2023, sits at 1-1 on the season after opening the year at home with a victory against Long Island University before traveling to face FBS power West Virginia of the Big 12 Conference. The Great Danes fell, 49-14, but had pulled to within 21-14 at one point in the second quarter before the Mountaineers pulled away.
Next up for the Great Danes is an away game against Idaho on Sept. 14, before the team returns home to face Maine in its annual Hometown Heroes Game in two weeks. The game kicks off at 3:30 p.m at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium. It’s is one of four remaining home contests, with each game featuring a special theme:
Sept. 28: Hometown Heroes Game vs. Maine, 3:30 p.m.
Oct. 19: Homecoming vs. Elon, 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 2: Breast Cancer Awareness Game vs. New Hampshire, 1 p.m.
Nov. 23: Senior Day vs. Hampton, 1 p.m.
The Great Danes are hoping to return to the NCAA FCS Tournament in 2024 after advancing all the way to the National Semifinals in 2023.
Field Hockey Seeks Return to NCAAs
The field hockey team is also in the hunt for a return to the NCAA Tournament. The Great Danes fell in the America East finals in 2023 after beating Big 10 power Michigan in the opening round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
The team features stellar seniors Alison Smisdom, Floor de Ruiter and Blanca Orsola, all of whom were selected to the NFHCA Watchlist. The watchlist recognizes the top collegiate and high school student athletes who are contenders for the end-of-the-year NFHCA All-Region and All-American teams.
The Great Danes, No. 20 in the latest national polls, sit at 3-1 on the year after beating Cornell on Sunday in a shootout. The team travels to face Harvard on Friday before returning to Alumni Turf on Sunday, Sept. 165 for a match against Drexel. The game starts at 1 p.m.
Cross Country Preps for America East Meet
The women’s and men’s cross country teams are competing in four invitationals before traveling to St. Albans, Vermont for the America East Championships on Nov. 2. Both teams are set to compete locally in the RPI Invitational on Friday, Sept. 27 at Saratoga State Park in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The women’s 5k race starts at 3 p.m. while the men’s 8k begins at 3:45 p.m.
Each team has one title since joining the America East for the 2001-02 season. The men’s cross country team hoisted the America East title in 2011, while the women won most recently in 2018.
Women’s Golf Hosts Great Danes Invitational
The defending 2024 MAAC champion Women’s Golf team is competing in five events during its fall season. The team took part in the Bucknell Invitational from Sept. 6-8, finishing in fifth place out of 13 squads. The Great Danes will host their own meet, the UAlbany Great Danes Invitational on Oct. 5-6 at Normanside Country Club in Delmar, N.Y.
Junior Lucia Esteban, who finished fifth overall in the MAAC Championships in the spring, returns to lead the team for the fall campaign. The golf team will also compete in a full slate of events in the spring as well, leading up to the 2025 MAAC Men’s & Women’s Golf Championships at the end of the season in Walt Disney World, Florida.
Men’s and Women’s Soccer Underway
The men’s and women’s soccer teams have also kick off their respective seasons. The men’s team sits at 2-4 after topping Marist on Monday, 2-0. The team returns on Saturday (Sept. 14) to Tom & Mary Casey Stadium to take on Cornell. The match is set to start at 6 p.m. The Great Danes will also host regional power Syracuse at UAlbany, when the Orange visit Casey Stadium on Tuesday, Oct. 1 for a 7 p.m. clash.
The women’s soccer team sits at 1-4 on the year after opening the season with a 3-1 victory over LIU on Aug. 17 at Casey Stadium. The team’s next match is on the road against Holy Cross at 7 p.m. in a game that will be televised live on ESPN+. The Great Danes’ next home match is against crosstown rival Siena on Wednesday, Sept. 18. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. at Casey Stadium.
Volleyball Returns to Home Court for 2024
After spending the entirety of the 2023 season “on the road” due to ongoing construction at Broadview Arena and in the PE Gym, the women’s volleyball team has finally returned to its home court for the start of the 2024 season.
Sitting at 3-3, the Great Danes recently wrapped up the UAlbany Invitational from Sept. 6-7, losing to MAC power Eastern Michigan before rallying to defeat Iona and Fairleigh Dickinson to finish the event 2-1. The Great Danes travel to Storrs, Conn. for the UConn classic this weekend beginning Sept. 13 and will then travel to Laramie, Wyoming for the UniWyo Invite.
The team’s next game in the PE Gym will be held on Sunday, Sept. 29 in an America East clash against New Hampshire. The match will tip off at 3 p.m.