Senior Albany attackman Luke Daquino took some solace in the Great Danes’ 14-13 loss to the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team Friday night in the Carrier Dome.

Sure, Daquino and his teammates wanted to pull off the biggest upset in the five-year history of Albany lacrosse. But he also understood just how far the Great Danes have come since he started as a freshman.

‘I’m real proud about the way we played,’ Daquino said. ‘It’s just unbelievable to think we’re at a level now we can play with anybody in the country. We played the best we can play.’

Syracuse is familiar with Albany. The Orange beat the Danes twice last season, including a 21-13 win in the first round of the NCAA tournament last May in the Carrier Dome. Despite losing Friday, Albany has won six of its past eight games and is on the verge of a third-straight tournament appearance.

‘Albany improved a ton from last year,’ said Syracuse senior Jarett Park.

Daquino and sophomore Merrick Thomson are two of the biggest reasons Albany has reached its current level. Thomson leads the nation in goal scoring at 3.64 a game and continued his recent domination over SU while Daquino ran the Albany attack by dishing five assists.

Thomson scored five goals and added two assists Friday after netting six goals against the Orange in last May’s tournament meeting.

Syracuse tried to prevent Thomson from setting up in front of the cage during possessions but Albany’s ability to transition quickly sometimes negated that.

‘They do such a great job in unsettled situations,’ said Syracuse head coach John Desko. ‘They get their guys opportunities.’

Two to the rescue

With Syracuse’s tournament positioning unsettled, Friday night’s game could be the last Carrier Dome contest for a slew of SU seniors. Syracuse honored 10 seniors in a pre-game ceremony.

‘It was exciting,’ senior goalie Jay Pfeifer said. ‘It’s clichd but four years goes by pretty fast.’

Pfeifer’s ovation was a little louder than the rest. He played in his 61st game Friday, an NCAA record, earning his 700th career save midway through the game.

Pfeifer said the accomplishments, including two national championships, aren’t something he thinks about now. He said it’s something he’ll remember after he’s done playing.

Pfeifer made 11 saves but none were larger than the two he made late in the game. Pfeifer denied Albany’s Brendan Russell with 28 seconds remaining to keep Syracuse on top.

‘Jay stepped up and made two point-blank saves,’ Park said.

Bucktooth’s brilliance

Brett Bucktooth has played well for Syracuse all year but he quietly put up a career night Friday against the Great Danes.

Bucktooth scored four goals, the most of his career, and gave Syracuse a formidable scoring trio along with junior Brian Crockett and freshman Mike Leveille.

With Crockett sliding to midfield, Bucktooth finished strong in front of the cage for Syracuse. He scored three straight goals in the first half and made a nifty stick fake on one of the goals to beat a defender.

‘Brett played a great game,’ Leveille said. ‘He’s consistently played that way all year.’

This and that

Friday’s game was the fifth one-goal game SU has played in this year. … Syracuse won 19-of-30 face-offs with a two-man unit of Danny Brennan and Geoff Keough. … Syracuse is now 3-0 against Albany.

Published on April 24, 2005 at 12:00 pm