HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – After becoming the fourth America East program to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship in the last eight years, Albany will face sixth-seeded Notre Dame on Saturday, May 17th at 2:30 p.m. at Hofstra with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
The game will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN2 and online on WatchESPN. Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra have the call.
The Great Danes (12-5), who are ranked 15th in the USILA Coaches Poll and 14th in the Warrior DI Media Poll, took down top-ranked Loyola, 13-6, in Baltimore on May 10 to advance to the quarterfinals. The America East champion, which leads the nation scoring 16.1 goals per game, has won eight-straight contests
Notre Dame (10-5), ranked fifth in each poll, defeated Harvard 13-5 in the NCAA First Round. The Fighting Irish won the ACC title this season.
Albany is in the NCAA Quarterfinals for the second time in Division I history and first time since 2007. That year, the Great Danes took then-undefeated Cornell to overtime, but fell to the Big Red 12-11.
This is the second meeting all-time between the two programs. The schools met in South Bend on March 1, 2008, with Notre Dame edging the Great Danes 8-7.
Lyle and Miles Thompson, both Tewaaraton Award finalists, are having the best season of any tandem in history. Lyle stands with 74 assists and 48 goals to total 122 points, the highest-scoring season in DI history, flanked by Miles, who has the second-highest-scoring season in DI history with 115 points off 79 goals and 36 assists. With three more goals, Miles can equal the NCAA single-season mark.
Albany is seeking to become the second America East program to join reach the Final Four. Towson accomplished the feat in 2001.