Brian Nee and Alex Zink each scored four goals in leading fourth-ranked Syracuse to a 21-13 victory over Albany in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, May 16 before 4,374 fans at the Carrier Dome.
Syracuse (12-2) led 6-5 in the last minute of the second quarter, before reeling off seven unanswered goals to take command. Nee found the lower left corner with six seconds left before halftime to ignite that run. He took a pass from behind the cage by All-American Michael Powell in netting his third goal of the first half.
The Orange scored four times in the opening six minutes of the third quarter to build an 11-5 advantage. Kevin Dougherty, who had three goals, all in the third stanza, and Nee each found the net in a 49-second span. Nee scored from right in front of the cage as Steve Vallone threw back to him in the slot with 10:03 left in the stanza.
Zink, a 6-foot-3 senior attack, would later complete his team's decisive run, when he scored from left of the crease with 1:58 left in the third period for a 13-5 lead. Zink, who also had two assists, added three fourth-quarter goals, including an empty-net shot following a turnover in front of the cage.
Albany (10-6) trailed 6-2 early in the second quarter but rallied with three consecutive goals. Freshman Merrick Thomson began that outburst with a man-down goal, and later closed the gap to 6-5 when he scored in transition off Luke Daquino’s crossing pass.
Thomson the Great Danes with six goals and one assist. His goal total tied the third-highest mark in a NCAA first-round contest. Sophomore Chris Martocchia added two goals and one assist for the Great Danes, who won their second consecutive America East Conference championship to earn an NCAA berth.
"We had the momentum before that goal just before halftime, said Albany coach Scott Marr, whose program has put together back-to-back 10-win campaigns. "We didn't make the little plays or get the ground balls that beat quality teams. They won the face-offs in the third quarter and our offense did not see the ball for seven or eight minutes."
Syracuse's Powell, a candidate for national player-of-the-year honors, finished with three goals and three assists. The Great Danes' Daquino had one goal and two assists, and became the first player in the program's history to score 50-plus points in three different seasons.