PHOTO CREDIT: IAN NEADLE
Who: Albany and Notre Dame
Where: Hempstead, NY
When: May 17, 2014, 2:30 pm ET.
Albany and Notre Dame are ready to compete this weekend in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Notre Dame is coming off of a high after winning with the largest point margin in the history of their NCAA tournament appearances. They had quite the game against unranked Harvard, and they are looking to continue their success as they advance to the second round of play. Notre Dame is proud of their own Liam O’Connor, who has been victorious in 58 percent of his faceoffs this season. O’Connor is also valuable to the fighting Irish because of his versatility on the field, he can be successful in multiple positions, and still bring the edge to a game. Conor Kelly makes terrific saves in goal, and Notre Dame boasts of their magnificent defensive skills and they are certainly a tough team to get past.
Notre Dame is tough, but the Thompsons and Albany might be tougher. The Great Danes had an amazing game on Saturday and are deservingly moving on to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. This is a team that has been performing all season long with three unstoppable players, Ty, Lyle, and Miles Thompson. On Saturday, UAlbany allowed the least amount of goals this season. This great game and morale boost could not have come at a better time than the NCAA tournament. Albany has had a strong defensive showing all season, as well. Blaze Riorden had 13 saves on Saturday and the team is attributing his great showing to their success. The Thompson Trio leads UAlbany’s stellar offense. Lyle now holds the DI single-season record in points, contributing to 122 of Albany points. Second to Lyle is Miles, who holds 115 points on this single season with UAlbany. The team’s great success this year is leaps and bounds above what they seemed capable of last year. This year, Albany is a top contender to win the NCAA tournament. If UAlbany can remain steadfast and defeat Notre Dame, they will be one-step closer to an NCAA title.
