VESTAL, N.Y.— Michael Solazzo scored three goals and added two assists and Kevin Rae made 12 saves as third-seeded Albany defeated top-seeded Binghamton 10-4 at East Gym Complex to win its second-straight America East Championship. The Great Danes, 10-5, tied a school record for wins in a season.
Solazzo, who was named to the all-championship team, had two goals and two assists in a decisive five-goal run by the Great Danes after the Bearcats had cut the lead to 3-2. Solazzo scored with 8:01 left in the second period to increase the lead to 4-2. Luke Daquino added his second goal of the game with 2:35 left in the quarter to give Albany a 5-2 lead at the break. Rae, who was named the championship’s Most Outstanding Player for the second-straight year, made eight saves in the first half.
Solazzo then set up Merrick Thomson, who had three goals, for the lone goal of the third period with 6:51 left. Solazzo set up Thomson again to start the fourth period with 9:56 left. Solazzo’s second goal of the game with 8:30 left gave Albany an 8-2 lead.
David Burpoe finally stoped the Albany run when he scored with 5:59 left. But Thomson and Solazzo answered, each with his third goal of the game.
The Great Danes had taken a 2-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game on goals by Brendan Russell and Frank Resetarits. Daquino made it 3-0 with 56 seconds left in the first period. Binghamton scored two goals 16 seconds apart to cut the lead to 3-2 early in the second period. Rob Williams was set up by Matt McNamara with 9:23 left in the second period and Matt DeCrice scored off an assist from Chris Bernard with 9:07 left.
Kevin McKeown, the 2004 America East Player of the Year, made nine saves for the Bearcats, who ended their third season as a varsity program with a 10-6 mark.
Albany earns its second-straight bid to the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship and awaits the pairings announced on ESPNews Monday at 3:40 p.m.
Joining Rae and Solazzo on the all-championship team were Daquino and Patrick McSweeney of Albany, Tom Wilmot, McNamara and Chris Healy of Binghamton, Brendan Mundorf and Brad Preisinger of UMBC and Brendan Callahan and Jason Capadoro of Stony Brook.
| Scoring |
|---|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|---|
| Albany |
3 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
10 |
| Binghamton |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
| Individual Scoring |
|---|
| Albany (Goals-Assists) |
|---|
|
Brendan Russell (1-1), Chris Martocchia (0-2), Frank Resetarits (1-1), Luke Daquino (2-0), Eric Wolf (0-1), Michael Solazzo (3-2), Merrick Thomson (3-0), Tim Primrose (0-1) |
| Binghamton (Goals-Assists) |
|---|
|
Rob Williams (1-0), Matt McNamara (1-1), Matt DeCirce (1-0), Chris Bernard (0-1), David Burpoe (1-0) |
| Goalkeepers |
|---|
| Albany |
|---|
| Kevin Rae (58:56), 12 saves, 3 goals; Chris Gill (1:04), 1 save, 1 goal |
| Binghamton |
|---|
| Kevin McKeown(60:00), 9 saves, 10 goals |
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Albany—Brendan Russell (Chris Martocchia) 13:45
Albany—Frank Resetarits (Brendan Russell) 10:14
Albany—Luke Daquino (Eric Wolf) 0:56
Second Quarter
Binghamton—Rob Williams (Matt McNamara) 9:23
Binghamton—Matt DeCirce (Chris Bernard) 9:07
Albany—Michael Solazzo (Martocchia) 8:01
Albany—Daquino (unassisted) 2:35
Third Quarter
Albany—Merrick Thomson (Solazzo) 6:51
Fourth Quarter
Albany—Thomson (Solazzo) 9:56
Albany—Solazzo (Resetarits) 8:30
Binghamton—David Burpoe (unassisted) 5:59
Albany—Thomson (Tim Primrose) 5:18
Albany—Solazzo (unassisted) 3:29
Binghamton-McNamara (unassisted) 0:24