Men’s Lacrosse Falls to Cornell Following Last-Minute Goal
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By Carter Schum | February 16, 2026
On Saturday Feb. 14, the University at Albany men’s lacrosse team fell to Cornell.
“This is a really good lacrosse team we have in our locker room,” said head coach Scott Marr of his team's effort at last Saturday’s game (2/14).
The Great Danes struck first, as Teharonhiorens McComber deposited a feed from Brendan O’Keefe into the far corner, to make the score 1-0 at the 11:41 mark of the first quarter.
Cornell responded almost immediately, as Ryan Goldstein scored his first of the afternoon after making a couple of defenders fall down.
Jackson Palumb gave the lead back to UAlbany, after an impressive finish from far out.
However, Bowie Horsman got a goal back for Cornell to even the score at 2-2, with 8:10 left to play in the first quarter.
Ben Wimmer restored the Great Dane lead less than a minute later, on a shot that beat Cornell goalkeeper Matthew Tully up high.
Jaden Ciaparra tied the game for Cornell with 2:02 remaining in the first quarter. However, Ryan Doherty gave the Great Danes a 4-3 lead 52 seconds after, as both offenses were able to find success early.
To start the second quarter, The Great Danes scored a goal in a bizarre fashion. Goalkeeper Mathew Tully brought the ball up the field himself, however UAlbany defender Max Nesson performed a stick check to knock the ball free. With an empty net, Ryan Doherty deposited his second shot of the game from just past the midfield line, bringing the score to 5-3.
Cornell answered back on the ensuing possession, as Willem Firth beat goalie Brady Smith from in close, making the game 5-4 with 12:31 left to play in the first half.
Doherty scored again at the 7:42 mark with a behind the back goal while getting checked, to give UAlbany a 6-4 lead at the midway mark of the second quarter.
Willem Firth picked the top left corner to beat Brady Smith, cutting the Great Dane lead to 6-5 with five minutes remaining in the first half.
Conrell got their first man-up opportunity of the game, as Cade Galko was flagged for holding at the 4:08 mark. They would almost convert on this, but the Great Danes killed the penalty.
The game was leveled 6-6 with under 2 minutes remaining, as Brian Luzzi scored off a feed from Ryan Waldman. Cornell got a man-up opportunity at the end of the half, however they were unable to convert, and the first half came to an end.
The Great Danes got their first man-up chance of the game with 12:17 remaining in the third quarter, however the play was unsuccessful.
Cornell took their first lead of the game with 10:39 on the clock, as Ryan Waldman fired a bullet into the net.
UAlbany got their second man up opportunity of the game with 6:40 remaining, cashing in seconds later, as Jackson Palumb beat Tully down low to complete his hat trick and level the game at 7-7.
Off of a failed Great Dane clear, Ryan Waldman scored his second goal in a row, to restore the Big Red lead to 8-7 with 3:16 left to play in the third quarter.
This proved to be the final goal of the third stanza, as both defenses had tightened up considerably in comparison to the first half of the game.
Brendan Staub scored a pole goal for the Big Red just 16 seconds into the fourth quarter, giving Cornell their first two-goal lead of the afternoon, making the score 9-7.
The Great Danes got another man-up opportunity with 9:51 left to play, however this was unsuccessful as they turned the ball over before getting a shot on goal.
Jackson Palumb scored his fourth goa; of the game, as he scored on a behind the goal feed from Silas Richmond with 7:51 remaining, bringing the score to 9-8.
However, Ryan Goldstein responded less than a minute later to restore Cornell’s lead to 10-8.
Ryan Doherty scored a hat-trick goal with 5:35 left on the clock, as he beat Tully from afar to cut the Big Red lead to 10-9.
Doherty scored his second goal in a row with just over 2:30 left, leveling the game at 10-10.
However, disaster struck for the Great Danes, as the Big Red used yet another failed clear to take an 11-10 advantage via Willem Firth with under a minute remaining.
UAlbany got one last possession to try to equal the game. However, Silas Richmond’s shot was saved, and Cornell emerged victorious 11-10.
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