ALBANY, NY — Siena and UAlbany treated the Capital Region to a show of competitive lacrosse that would have made coach "G" proud on a day that honored the late former Saints' head coach Liam Gleason in the first annual LarGer than Life Game on Bob Field at Casey Stadium under the nights on Tuesday night.

In the end, it was a pair of fourth quarter goals by the Great Danes' James Reid and Brendan O'Keefe that proved to be the difference in a 9-7 win for RV/RV UAlbany over RV/RV Siena to snap the Saints' seven-game winning streak. 

The rematch of the 2025 NCAA Tournament Game gave the crowd plenty of "oohs and ahh" with athletic saves, big hustle plays and a pendulum that swung back-and-forth throughout the night.

The Saints (10-3) rallied back on several occasions, tying the score at 3-3 and then again at 5-5 and 7-7 with 18 seconds left in the third quarter on a score by Travis Fry. 

UAlbany (8-4) used a 38-21 advantage on ground balls and 25-19 shots on goal advantage to put them in the best position to win. But the Great Danes found themselves trailing 6-5 with 12:13 to go in the third quarter after a 3-0 Siena run gave them the first lead of the game on a Conor Hufnagel score off a long pass from Joe Valenza. 

Saints' senior goalkeeper Vito DeBellis kept Siena right in it with a career-high 16 saves on a .640 save percentage including several highlight reel saves. Siena also won the faceoff battle, taking 12 of 20 on the day with Tyler Kuprianchik winning 7-of-9. Logan Banek was 5-of-11. 

On the offensive side of the ball, Hufnagle, a graduate student attacker, registered his third hat trick of the season, scoring at the 4:31 mark of the opening quarter to get the Saints on the board. Then, added two scores with about a four-minute span to give Siena the lead.

UAlbany responded at 6:41 with Ryan Doherty finding the net, assisted by Jackson Palumb, leveling the score. Daniel Kesselring then gave UAlbany the lead at 2:55 with another Palumb assist. Fry tied the game, bringing his season total to 20 goals. The quarter ended with the teams locked at 7-7.

In the fourth quarter, UAlbany's James Reid opened the quarter's scoring at 8:14, marking his eighth goal of the season. Moments later, Brendan O'Keefe, assisted by Silas Richmond, extended UAlbany's lead with another goal at 6:34. Despite the Saints' efforts, including multiple saves by DeBellis and several shots on goal by Fry, they were unable to find the net in the final quarter. UAlbany maintained their advantage, effectively using strategic timeouts and defensive plays to hold off the Saints' attempts to close the gap.

The first quarter opened with UAlbany taking control early as Ben Wimmer scored the first goal at 12:57, assisted by Silas Richmond. Richmond himself found the back of the net again at 8:05, extending the home team's lead. The Saints responded with a goal by Hufnagel at 4:31, closing the gap to 2-1. However, UAlbany's Matthew Pettis added another goal at 2:17 to secure a 3-1 lead by the end of the quarter. DeBellis made several key saves for Siena, helping to keep the game within reach.

Nikolas Barbero opened the second quarter scoring with a goal at 13:37, putting the Saints ahead. UAlbany responded with two consecutive goals by Max Neeson and Ryan Doherty, taking a 5-3 lead. Siena's Patrick Linton and Hufnagel then scored back-to-back goals, with Hufnagel's assisted by Barbero, leveling the score at 5-5. The quarter ended with a strong save by DeBellis, keeping the score tied.

Siena will be back in action this coming Saturday when it picks up MAAC play with a visit to Emmitsburg, MD to take on Mount St. Mary's (3-9, 2-5 MAAC) at 12 p.m. The game will be on ESPN+.