UAlbany embracing underdog role going into opening-round battle with Yale
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Buy your stock of UAlbany lacrosse now while you can.
Both the men's and women's squads qualified for their respective NCAA Tournaments last weekend; first time that's happened since 2017.
While the men secured an electrifying, opening-round win over Siena Wednesday, the lady Great Danes will make their first-round appearance Friday, and will travel to take on Yale.
The Bulldogs won the Ivy League, drew the seven-seed in the tournament and boast a 14-3 overall record.
UAlbany is fortunate just to be in the big dance after qualifying for the America East Tournament on the final day of the regular season, and then winning a conference championship as a three-seed.
The Great Danes have been cast in an underdog role - or "UnderDane" role - since the start of their postseason journey, and have fully embraced it.
"We're coming in playing a seeded team. We have nothing to lose. They have pretty much everything to lose," said senior defender Mackenzie Salentre. "We can come in and just, like, play our game. And prove that we belong there."
"Going into a game with no pressure is something that a lot of teams don't have, and I think that could work in our favor," added senior midfielder Gracie McCauley.
And Yale is not the first top-tier squad UAlbany has faced this year - not even close. Throughout the regular season, the Danes played four teams that are currently in the big dance.
In fact, UAlbany won an NCAA Tournament game two years ago; erasing a seven-goal deficit to take down Virginia - something head coach Katie Thomson believes gives her team a fighting chance in this matchup.
"It's amazing that we have a lot of players that have that NCAA experience, and have a win under their belts," said Thomson. "They'll definitely use that experience to their advantage. [And] we just experienced three playoff wins, starting with our last regular season game, which was a must-win to get into the tournament."
Opening draw from Yale's Reese Stadium is set for 1:00 p.m. Friday.