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Delaware Lacrosse News |
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March 8, 2008
Cahill’s Goal in Third Overtime Lifts No. 9 University of
Delaware Past No. 16 Albany 8-7 in Top 20 Lacrosse Thriller
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NEWARK, DE -- Sophomore Martin Cahill scored his only goal of the
game with 2:12 left in the third overtime period and the midst of a
driving rainstorm to lift the University of Delaware to an 8-7 win over
Albany in a Top 20 men’s lacrosse thriller Saturday afternoon at Rullo
Stadium.
Cahill, who scored his 11th goal of the season for the game-winner, took
the ball on a fastbreak and fired from 20 yards out on the left side,
beating Albany goalkeeper Brett Queener and ending a battle that
featured three ties and lasted nearly three hours. The game was played
in a light rain with periods of sun, but the skies opened the wind
kicked up over the final 30 seconds of action.
No. 9 ranked Delaware, playing its first game with its highest national
ranking this decade, improved to 5-0 for the third straight season and
downed the No. 16 Great Danes (0-3) for the fourth time in the last five
meetings. The game featured two teams that competed in the NCAA
Tournament a year ago when Delaware advanced to the NCAA semifinals and
Albany to the second round. The game was the first in UD history to last
three overtime periods.
Sophomore Curtis Dickson led the Blue Hens with four goals and an assist
while Vincent Giordano added two goals and goalkeeper Tom Scherr came up
big in the nets, posting 18 saves. Dickson, who sat out much of the
first half after being hit in the head, upped his team-leading goal
total to 17 and scored for the 14th straight game.
Albany continued its hard-luck season as the Great Danes remained
winless following a season-opening 10-5 loss to defending national
champion and top-ranked Johns Hopkins and a last-minute 7-6 setback at
Notre Dame last Saturday. Corey Small had three goals and assist for
Albany while Brian Grodotzke added three scores, Mike Ammann dished out
two assists, and Queener posted nine saves.
Delaware did not trail the entire game but never led by more than two
goals during the contest. The Hens scored twice in the opening two
minutes to take a 2-0 lead but Albany came back to tie on a goal by
Small with 7:20 left in the opening stanza. A Dickson goal gave the Hens
another two-goal lead at 4-2, but Small scored again with 44 seconds
left in the first period to narrow the margin to one.
Dickson scored twice in the second quarter to give the Hens a 6-4 lead,
but a goal by Albany’s Grodotzke with 1:12 left in the half cut the lead
to 6-5 at the break. After a scoreless third quarter, Albany tied the
game at 6-6 with 11:38 left in regulation on a goal by Derek Dale.
Delaware regained the lead at 7-6 with 6:01 left on a tally by J.J.
Moran, but Albany sent the game into overtime on a goal by Grodotzke
with 3:20 remaining.
Both teams had their opportunities to win the game in sudden-death
overtime, but Albany couldn’t convert on five shots in the first extra
stanza and on two in the second. Delaware managed just three total shots
in the first two extra periods but could not hit the back of the net.
Albany won the faceoff in the third overtime and held the ball for over
a minute before calling a timeout. Following the break, Ammann’s shot
from the right side was stopped by Scherr just as the heavy rain
started. Scherr quickly cleared the ball out and Cahill raced across
midfield and down the left side before blasting a shot past Queener from
20 yards out to set off a wild celebration.
Source: University of Delaware Sports Information Dept.
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