UAlbany Men's Lacrosse Hosts #9/13 Massachusetts on Tuesday at John Fallon Field

1. The Game UAlbany hosts Massachusetts for the fourth game of the 2013 season. The Great Danes are 1-2 on the young season after a 15-8 loss to Yale on Saturday, while UMass comes in with a 3-1 record after falling to Brown over the weekend. 2. Scouting UAlbany The Great Danes, who were chosen first in the America East preseason poll, are currently receiving votes in both the USILA Coaches’ Poll and Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. UAlbany vaulted to 16th in both polls after defeating Syracuse in the season-opener, but have dropped out of the rankings after back-to-back losses to then-unranked teams. The Great Danes debuted their revamped lineup for 2013 in a 16-15 double overtime win at Syracuse, with the entire Thompson Trio on attack. Sophomore Lyle, who moved up to the front line to join his brother, Miles, and cousin, Ty, was named the first America East Conference Player of the Week for 2013 after scoring two goals and handing out six assists against the Orange. However, Miles missed the game against Yale with an injury, leaving the scoring up to other Great Dane attackmen. UAlbany got three goals from Matt Garziano, and both Lyle and Ty Thompson had two scores apiece. Lyle, who has 16 assists on the season, handed out helpers on half of UAlbany’s goals. Also making a splash for the Great Danes so far this season is freshman goalkeeper Blaze Riorden. A native of Fairport, N.Y., Riorden has made 37 saves in three games. The rookie made three huge saves in his debut against the Orange, stopping three shots in the ‘Cuse-dominated first overtime period. 3. Scouting UMass The Minutemen enter Tuesday’s game with a 3-1 record after recording their first loss of the season to Brown on Saturday. Heading into Saturday, UMass had won three straight, including posting a 12-11 win over then 4th-ranked North Carolina on Feb. 16. The Minutemen are led by Matt Whippen, who has nine goals and three assists over the first three contests. Andrew Sokol and Connor Mooney each have seven goals apiece to lead the UMass offense. Faceoff man Joe Calvallo has taken all but two faceoffs this season, and holds a .606 percentage (54-89) in the circle for the Minutemen. In goal for UMass, redshirt freshman Zachary Oliveri has started all four games between the pipes and is boasting an 8.54 goals against average and a .595 save percentage. Oliveri has made 50 saves in net for the Minutemen. 4. Tewaarton Watch List The Three Musketeers of the Thompson Trio have all been named to the 2013 Tewaarton Watch List, as announced by the organization on Friday morning. While among a group of teams such as Maryland, North Carolina & Duke with three players on the first watch list, UAlbany’s Thompsons are the only related group of players to make an appearance.