ALBANY — The University at Albany women’s lacrosse team tested itself this season with a rigorous nonconference schedule that included losses to Northwestern and Syracuse, the top two seeds in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
The Great Danes will find out if those regular-season tests will help them upset 12th-ranked Virginia at 8 p.m. Friday in a first-round match at the University of Denver.
“They (Virginia) play in the ACC,” UAlbany head coach Katie Thomson said. “They play a top schedule every weekend, but we’ve also faced a lot of really good opponents this year, so we’re feeling really good.”
America East champion UAlbany (12-6) played four ranked foes during the regular season. The Great Danes fell at Syracuse 22-5 on March 1 and 21-11 at home to Northwestern on April 8.
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Peter Barton Stadium, Denver
Livestream: ESPN+
The Great Danes also dropped their season opener at No. 20 Johns Hopkins 17-10 on Feb. 12 and came their closest to an upset with a 21-20 defeat at No. 18 Stanford on March 12.
“I think it helps a lot,” senior midfielder Sarah Falk said. “I think it builds our confidence. We were neck-and-neck with Northwestern for half the game and I think we played our hearts out and being able to play against opponents like that is just so special and makes us play better, I think, and lets us know we can compete with those top teams.”
UAlbany is facing Virginia (11-6) for the first time in program history. The Great Danes program has never played a game in Colorado. If UAlbany gets past Virginia, it will play either host Denver (19-0) or USC (16-3) in a second-round game at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Thomson said the Great Danes didn’t know what to expect when they gathered for the NCAA selection show last Sunday, just hours…
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