ALBANY, N.Y. – Outscoring its opponent 8-0 in the second quarter, the #6/7 UAlbany men’s lacrosse team notched its 20th straight victory in America East play, dating back to 2013, with a 13-7 home win over Vermont on Saturday afternoon. With the win, UAlbany (8-2, 4-0 AE) has won its last 26 games against America East opponents, including the last 20 regular season contests. UAlbany also holds sole possession of first place in the America East, leading by a game over Stony Brook. Tied at 1-1 after the first period, UAlbany went on an 8-0 run in the second quarter, building its lead to 10 after three quarters over Vermont (5-7, 1-2 AE). The Catamounts outscored UAlbany 5-1 in the fourth, but the advantage for the Great Danes proved enough. “The second quarter is how we should be playing for four quarters, but we have to find a way to play all 60 minutes,” said UAlbany coach Scott Marr. “But, we did get the victory.” Blaze Riorden earned the victory with 14 saves in goal, including eight in the second quarter, and caused three turnovers. The defense as a whole allowed just two goals in the first three quarters, including two caused turnovers and three ground balls from James Burdette. “We had a lot of good communication, and we had to make sure that we allowed saves that Blaze [Riorden] could save,” said Stone Sims, who also had a transition goal in the game. On the offensive end, Connor Fields netted four goals on seven shots while Seth Oakes netted three goals and an assist, adding two caused turnovers on the ride. Justin Reh had a season-high four assists plus a goal while Zach Ornstein went 15-24 on faceoffs, adding nine ground balls. “We came out a little slower than we would have liked, but [Marr] talked us through it, and we started to get our feel later,” said Fields. For Vermont, Cam Milligan concluded with four goals and an assist while Cam Stafford gathered two goals and an assist. Jon Kaplan got the loss in goal with 16 saves. Each side started firing away quick shots, leading to Riorden saves and UAlbany turnovers. With 9:27 left in the 1st, Oakes scored on a catch and shoot from Reh behind the cage for the first UAlbany goal. UAlbany saw Kyle McClancy hit the crossbar on the next possession, then Kaplan saved the next shot. The other way, Milligan netted a goal to tie the game up. The score was 1-1 after one. Into the second quarter, UAlbany shot twice and missed, leading to a scrum for a loose ball. Reh picked it up and found an open Oakes for the laser shot and score. Next possession, Reh found a cutting John Maloney for the goal next to the goal circle. After some back and forth, Burdette caused a turnover as UAlbany went quickly on the clear. Sims took the ball across and fired on the cage for his first collegiate goal and a 4-1 UAlbany advantage. In the final five minutes of the second quarter, UAlbany scored on all its possessions, starting with Maloney coming from around the cage for the score with 4:39 left in the period. Derrick Eccles fired a shot under the crossbar next, then Kevin McNally got through the defense for the shot and score over Kaplan’s shoulder. Fields added the next two goals, from Oakes and McClancy respectively, to put UAlbany ahead 9-1 by the break. Vermont got the first goal of the third with Stafford being set up by Milligan for the score. UAlbany got the goal back after AJ Kluck forced a turnover, then Fields buried a shot after some passing around in transition. The UAlbany defense held on a long Vermont possession for three minutes, including a man-down situation, then later as an Ian MacKay shot hit the crossbar. Fields and Reh added goals in the final 2:05 of the quarter to make UAlbany’s advantage 12-2 after three. The visitors scored the first three goals in the first 5:20 of the fourth quarter, with Milligan scored two of them. UAlbany’s ride started to pick up after a timeout as Oakes and Reh forced turnovers. John Glancy set up Oakes for a goal with 7:54 for a 13-5 UAlbany lead. Riorden helped hold the advantage two late saves and a caused turnover. Vermont netted the game’s two final goals, but UAlbany’s lead held as the Great Danes took the 13-7 victory. Next Saturday, April 16th, UAlbany hosts SUNY rival Binghamton to finish the Spring Stomp at 7 p.m.