Kept in the game by a career-best effort from freshman goalkeeper Grace Cincebox, the University at Albany women’s lacrosse team put a scare into unbeaten Denver on Sunday at Peter Barton Stadium.
However, the Great Danes couldn’t muster enough offense against the Pioneers’ nation-best defense to pull off an upset for the second time in three days.
Fifth-seeded Denver held off UAlbany 8-6 in a NCAA Tournament second-round match.
America East champion UAlbany, which stunned Virginia with a comeback win on Friday, ended its season with a 13-7record. Denver (21-0) moves on to play No. 4 North Carolina in the quarterfinals.
The Pioneers entered the game tops in Division I in scoring defense at 5.9 goals per match.
“(Denver’s defense) is really strong,” UAlbany head coach Katie Thomson said. “It’s what we expected and what we’ve seen. They really do limit opportunities, kind of limit clean shots when you get into the eight-meter (arc). But I do think we were pushing our offense against them and getting some good looks. So we’re really proud of our effort today.”
Cincebox finished with a career-high 14 saves.
“Honestly, the preparation for this game, yesterday’s practice really helped and watching a lot of scout on Denver and just working with my coaches and teammates,” Cincebox said. “It really was a combination helped me succeed today.”
UAlbany took a 5-4 lead when Grace McCauley scored on an assist from Katie Pascale with 11 minutes left in the third period.
But Denver answered with four straight goals. Lauren Black put the Pioneers ahead for good at 6-5 on a free-position shot with 3:37 to play in the third quarter.
The Pioneers scored again as time expired in the third period. UAlbany defenseman Mallori Kitts threw a pass in her own end that was picked off by Denver’s Sloane Kipp, who charged in and beat Cincebox with a high shot that made it 7-5 as time ran out.
“It really doesn’t change (the tone of the game),” Thomson said. “What happened, happened and we’re on to the next play. We knew that we could have some opportunities against them, so we just went back and it’s just the process. Always the next-play mentality and we fought hard the whole game and we gave it everything we had. Just couldn’t be filled with more joy for this team and this season.”
UAlbany senior midfielder Sarah Falk scored her team’s first four goals of the game and finished with a program-record 72 for the season. Afterward, she said she’ll return to UAlbany next season for the extra year of eligibility allowed by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m super excited and I wouldn’t want to do it anywhere else,” Falk said. “This team is everything to me. This team is my second family and I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.”
The Great Danes will return a cast that includes Falk, junior midfielder Katie Pascale, who had 49 goals and 43 assists this season, and Cincebox. UAlbany won its first America East title since 2012.