Scott Marr has taken UAlbany's men's lacrosse team from an afterthought to a national power.
We knew Marr was doing something special around the 2007 season, when I began covering the team. Back then, it was players like Frank Resetarits, Merrick Thompson and Liam Gleason. The last two are currently assistants on Matt’s staff. They played fast and flashy and started to generate interest in college lacrosse in our area. UAlbany made its first ever appearance in the national quarterfinal round that year.
There had been some ups and downs after that season, but then came a player named Miles Thompson. The following year, his brother Lyle arrived, and UAlbany lacrosse would be changed forever. The brothers were from a reservation near Syracuse.
If we thought the teams of years prior were “flashy,” these teams were on another planet. If it’s possible to grow accustomed to behind-the-back, one-handed and between-the-legs shots, we did. The Thompsons made history in 2014 when they were named co-Tewaaraton Award winners, given to the nation’s top lacrosse player.
Lacrosse is a game created by Native Americans to honor the Creator, and many more after the Thompsons have come to respect the way UAlbany plays, the way Scott Marr coaches, and they have made Albany their second home.
Now the top high school players in the country -- names like Connor Fields, who is a senior at UA, and freshman Tehoka Nanticoke -- have decided to come to Albany with a common goal: bringing UAlbany the program’s first-ever national championship.