Men’s Lacrosse is #1 in the Nation

Great Danes standouts, left to right, senior attackman Connor Fields, senior goalkeeper JD Colarusso and freshman attackman Tehoka Nanticoke. (Photos by Bill Ziskin, Bob Mayberger and Greg Wall)

ALBANY, N.Y. (February 27, 2018) — The UAlbany men’s lacrosse is the No. 1 team in the country for the first time in the program’s 19-year Division I history.

The Great Danes (2-0) seized the top spot in the USILA Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse media poll on Monday, receiving 15 out of 23 first-place votes in the former and 24 of 32 first-place votes in the latter.

The No. 1 ranking is not only a first for UAlbany men's lacrosse, but for any UAlbany team since the Division I era began 19 years ago. It also marks the first top ranking for any Division I program affiliated with the State of New York system. The men’s lacrosse team was ranked No. 2 a week ago, as well as at one time in 2007.

Head Coach Scott Marr expressed pleasure with the milestone, but emphasized that the Great Danes, just two games into the season, still had to keep things in perspective. "We've been working hard, the kids have been doing a great job, and my coaches have been doing a great job preparing us," he said. "We want to continue working hard. It is nice to be recognized, it is great for our school and the program, but we have a lot of work to do."

The ascension from the No. 2 ranking was the result of Saturday's combination of UAlbany's trouncing of Drexel 18-5 while Duke, the previous week's No. 1, fell to Pennsylvania 10-9. The new No. 2 is Maryland, which hosts UAlbany on March 10.

The Great Danes play at home this Saturday in their first match as the nation’s No. 1, facing off with Cornell at Casey Stadium at 1 p.m.

UAlbany entered the season at No. 3, its highest preseason ranking ever. Then the Great Danes justified it with a 15-3 drubbing of Syracuse at the Carrier Dome in the opener on Feb. 17, followed by the win versus Drexel.

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