Syracuse men’s lacrosse looks to bounce back in mid-week road trip to Albany

If a mid-week game was ever needed for the Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse program, it is this particular week in early April.

Coming off one of the most lopsided defeats in a very long time on Saturday against Notre Dame, SU is looking to quickly get back in the win column when they make their first ever trip to the Capital Region tonight to play the Albany Great Danes. The game is set for 7 PM and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Albany has been having a very down season. They’re 3-5 so far with wins over Siena, UMass Lowell and a common-win with SU over Stony Brook. They’ve also picked up some unexpected losses, including dropping an eight-goal contest to Binghamton. Individually, they don’t have a single player averaging more than 2.5 points per game. Their top scorer, Graydon Hogg, has only accumulated 20 points on the entire season.

All that being said, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this ends up being a tough contest for SU.

This is the 20th all-time meeting between the two Upstate New York programs, but obviously the first taking place at Albany. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the Great Danes have been waiting many years for this night to take place: a game late enough in the season that it could comfortably be moved to the outdoor conditions of Casey Stadium on the campus of UAlbany.

It didn’t happen until their most talented teams were behind them, but the Great Danes are finally getting their night game hosting Syracuse. They’ll be ready with a great crowd and a tremendous student section. What does that mean for the performance of their team on the field? At the very least, it means they’re going to be hyped for a chance to pick up only their third-ever win in the series in their first opportunity in front of their home crowd.

There is nothing that would turn Albany’s 3-5 season around faster than an upset win against their in-state rivals. Thankfully, ‘Cuse has their own motivations for this game. Namely, erasing the memory of their worst-deficit loss since the late ‘70’s by picking up a critical win to move back to .500 on the season.