Thompson Trio takes Albany Great Danes to second round of NCAA playoffs

The University at Albany Great Danes, led by the Thompson trio, made it two rounds into the 2014 NCAA lacrosse playoffs. After defeating top-seeded Loyola on May 10, they were eliminated by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday, May 17.

They made huge strides with their domination on the NCAA Division I lacrosse field. They were even featured in a March 9 New York Times article titled “In a Native American Sport, a Family’s Giant Leap,” subtitled “College Lacrosse Upended by Albany’s Native American Stars.” It can be read for free at http://www.nytimes.com and search by clicking the box in the upper-lefthand corner.

Miles and Lyle Thompson are finalists for the Tewaaraton Award, and Ty was on the watch list. It is college lacrosse’s equivalent of the Heismann Trophy. The Times article says the honor has never gone to a Native American, one of the Thompsons could be the first.

The winner will be announced on Thursday, May 29 at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

In their contest against the Fighting Irish, the Thompsons scored most of their team’s goals. The Danes trailed for two periods but fashioned a five-goal lead in the third and fourth quarters. But, the Irish came back and tied the game before winning in overtime.

Lyle Thompson led the Albany offense with three goals and three assists. Miles Thompson scored three times and had an assist. Ty Thompson tallied a pair of goals.

Notre Dame took a 4-0 lead after 7:02 on the field. Less than a minute later, Lyle Thompson put Albany on the board and Miles Thompson added two goals for the Danes before the buzzer.

Notre Dame opened the second period with a goal, but Albany’s John Maloney quickly answered to make the score 5-4. Miles Thompson assisted by Lyle Thompson tied the game about 2:30 later, but the Fighting Irish reclaimed a one-goal lead before the end of the frame.

Ty Thompson brought Albany back into contention for the lead, assisted by Doug Eich, less than three minutes into the third stanza. Notre Dame again scored just over five minutes later, but a four-goal offensive assault where a Thompson either scored or assisted every time gave Albany a 10-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. Will Stenberg scored the Danes’s seventh goal and Lyle Thompson assisted. Lyle Thompson scored the next two. He assisted Ty Thompson on Albany goal number 10, which was scored with three seconds on the clock.

Eich and Mathew Bertrams put Albany to a five-goal lead in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. The Irish came back with four goals over the next seven minutes, closing the gap to 12-11. Ryan Feuerstein tallied the Danes’ last goal of the contest at 5:44, but two Notre Dame goals in less than two minutes tied the bout and forced sudden death. In the last 1:21, all three Thompsons had consecutive scoring attempts but were foiled by Notre Dame netminder Conor Kelly.

Matt Kavanagh scored the game-winner for the Irish 2:29 into overtime.

First-Round Win

The first round of the playoffs saw Albany, seeded at 15, fashion a 13-6 win over top-seeded Loyola.

The Thompsons sparked the Albany offense early on and they held a lead at the close of all four quarters of play for the eventual win.

Miles Thompson led the way for his team with five goals and a pair of helpers. Lyle Thompson scored a trio of goals and recorded five assists. Ty Thompson fashioned a hat trick.

Lyle Thompson opened the scoreboard for the Danes 1:05 into the contest. Miles Thompson duplicated the effort just over six minutes later. Pat Laconi answered for Loyola with 2:49 left in the quarter, but Jon Newhouse reclaimed the two-goal advantage less than a minute later.

Albany outscored Loyola 4-2 in the second quarter. The combination of Miles Thompson assisted by Lyle Thompson struck twice in a row. Loyola answered with two straight goals, but Miles and Lyle each scored another goal before the buzzer.

The third quarter saw the sides trade two-goal runs. Ty assisted by Miles Thompson came in for the Danes, followed by Will Steenberg. The second of Loyola’s two consecutive goals came with less than two seconds on the clock.

Ty assisted by Lyle Thompson scored 2:19 into the closing stanza. Lyle then fired one for Albany, then assisted Miles Thompson less than two minutes later. Loyola scored their last of the contest less than 30 seconds later. The duo of Ty assisted by Lyle Thompson closed scoring for the contest with 1:46 on the clock.