ALBANY, N.Y. – Sophomore Johnny Soi (Kerhonkson, N.Y.) scored two goals, as the UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team (3-6, 0-2 AE) fell to the UAlbany Great Danes (3-7, 1-2 AE), 17-6, on Saturday afternoon.

Soi, who added two ground balls to his stat sheet, was one of six River Hawks to record a point on the day. Freshman Danny Burke (Eden Prairie, Minn.) finished with a goal and an assist, graduate student Garrett Murphy (Billerica, Mass.) and sophomore Colby Frigon (Providence, R.I.) each added a goal. Sophomore Maverick Chedel (Groveland, Mass.) chipped in with the first goal of his career, while freshman Griffin Sumwalt (Aquebogue, N.Y.) tallied an assist.

The Great Danes opened the scoring just over 30 seconds into the match to take a 1-0 lead. UMass Lowell, however, answered right back, as Soi ripped a shot past the keeper with 12:25 on the clock to even the scoring. Despite momentum being on the River Hawks' side, UAlbany tallied three straight scores to take a 4-1 lead midway through the first. With 4:35 on the clock, the visitors found their second goal of the game, this time when Chedel placed a shot perfectly into the top left corner of the net for his first career score. The Great Danes added two more goals though, taking a 7-2 lead into the second quarter.

The River Hawks' defense locked down to begin the second, holding the opposition scoreless for over five minutes. Despite a great effort from the visitors, UAlbany added four more to make it 11-2 with just under two minutes to play in the half. In the final seconds, UMass Lowell found a scoring opportunity, using a goal off the stick of Burke to cut into the deficit heading into halftime.

Coming out of the break, the opposition added a goal just over a minute in, reextending their lead. Moments later, the River Hawks answered back, this time with Burke finding Frigon open in front of the net, setting up the sophomore for his first strike of the game. Although UMass Lowell was able to keep the Great Danes off the board for well over ten minutes, the hosts added three more in a minute of play, but goals by Murphy and Soi in the final 30 seconds made it 15-6 heading into the final period.  

Looking to make a comeback in the fourth, the River Hawks kept UAlbany scoreless for over half the period, but two goals by the Great Danes in the final minutes sealed the decision, 17-6.

Next up, the River Hawks hit the road once again, this time heading to Maryland to take on the UMBC Retrievers on Friday, April 4. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at UMBC Stadium in Baltimore, Md.