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UAlbany lacrosse fans tailgated on the morning of Saturday, May 26, before their team’s first championship weekend game vs. Yale at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Media: Times Union

Foxborough, Mass.

University at Albany senior goalkeeper JD Colarusso helped lead the lacrosse team to championship weekend, just as head coach Scott Marr had predicted to him years earlier.

Which made it that much harder for Marr to pull Colarusso, recently named a first-team All-American, in the first quarter of Saturday's NCAA Tournament semifinal after Yale scored the game's first seven goals in a stunning barrage.

"You feel for him,'' Marr said. "JD has been coming to Albany lacrosse games since he was about 6 years old. JD always wanted to be a Great Dane. I told him when we recruited him that he would take us to a Final Four at some point, and he did. It was a pretty cool story."

The feel-good tale of the "Dane Train" rolling into its first Final Four came to an abrupt halt as third-seeded Yale pummeled No. 2 UAlbany 20-11 before 30,616 fans at Gillette Stadium.

  • BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Tehoka Nanticoke #1 of Albany reacts after his teams 20-11 loss to Yale in the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Photo: Maddie Meyer, Getty / 2018 Getty Images
Photo: Maddie Meyer, Getty
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BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Tehoka Nanticoke #1 of Albany reacts after his teams 20-11 loss to Yale in the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. less
BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Tehoka Nanticoke #1 of Albany reacts after his teams 20-11 loss to Yale in the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, ... more
Photo: Maddie Meyer, Getty
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Yale players celebrate after defeating Albany 20-11 in the semifinals of the NCAA Division 1 college lacrosse tournament in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, May 26, 2018.
Yale players celebrate after defeating Albany 20-11 in the semifinals of the NCAA Division 1 college lacrosse tournament in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, May 26, 2018.
Photo: Michael Dwyer, AP
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BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Brian Ward #15 of the Yale attacks during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals against Albany at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Brian Ward #15 of the Yale attacks during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals against Albany at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
Photo: Maddie Meyer, Getty
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Albany's Jack Burgmaster (23) defends against Yale's Jack Tigh during the first half in the semifinals of the NCAA Division 1 college lacrosse tournament in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, May 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) less
Albany's Jack Burgmaster (23) defends against Yale's Jack Tigh during the first half in the semifinals of the NCAA Division 1 college lacrosse tournament in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, May 26, 2018. (AP ... more
Photo: Michael Dwyer / Associated Press
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BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Matt Gaudet #44 of Yale celebrates after scoring a goal against Albany during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) less
BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Matt Gaudet #44 of Yale celebrates after scoring a goal against Albany during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, ... more
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
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Yale’s Jack Tigh (18) congratulates Brian Ward after he scored against Albany on Saturday.
Yale’s Jack Tigh (18) congratulates Brian Ward after he scored against Albany on Saturday.
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
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BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Matt Gaudet #44 of Yale celebrates after scoring a goal against Albany during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) less
BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Matt Gaudet #44 of Yale celebrates after scoring a goal against Albany during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, ... more
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
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BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Kyle McClancy #40 of Albany defends John Daniggelis #4 of Yale during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) less
BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Kyle McClancy #40 of Albany defends John Daniggelis #4 of Yale during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, ... more
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
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BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Brian Ward #15 of the Yale attacks during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals against Albany at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) less
BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Brian Ward #15 of the Yale attacks during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals against Albany at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. ... more
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
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BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Jack Burgmaster #23 of Albany defends Jason Alessi #45 of Yale during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) less
BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Jack Burgmaster #23 of Albany defends Jason Alessi #45 of Yale during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, ... more
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
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BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Joseph Sessa #3 of Yale makes a pass against Albany during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) less
BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Joseph Sessa #3 of Yale makes a pass against Albany during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. ... more
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
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Yale’s Ben Reeves celebrates after scoring against Albany on Saturday.
Yale’s Ben Reeves celebrates after scoring against Albany on Saturday.
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
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Yale’s Jack Tigh (18) is defended by albany’s Anthony Altimiri on Saturday.
Yale’s Jack Tigh (18) is defended by albany’s Anthony Altimiri on Saturday.
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
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Yale huddles together during the second half of their game against Albany on Saturday.
Yale huddles together during the second half of their game against Albany on Saturday.
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
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BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Troy Reh #10 of Albany defends Ben Reeves #2 of Yale during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) less
BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Troy Reh #10 of Albany defends Ben Reeves #2 of Yale during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. ... more
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
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Albany's Troy Reh, left, and TD Ierlan (3) defend against Yale's Jason Alessi (45) during the second half in the semifinals of the NCAA Division 1 college lacrosse tournament in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, May 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) less
Albany's Troy Reh, left, and TD Ierlan (3) defend against Yale's Jason Alessi (45) during the second half in the semifinals of the NCAA Division 1 college lacrosse tournament in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, May ... more
Photo: Michael Dwyer / Associated Press
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Yale's Brian Tevlin (12) carries the ball against Albany's Kyle McClancy (40) during the second half in the semifinals of the NCAA Division 1 college lacrosse tournament in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, May 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) less
Yale's Brian Tevlin (12) carries the ball against Albany's Kyle McClancy (40) during the second half in the semifinals of the NCAA Division 1 college lacrosse tournament in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, May 26, ... more
Photo: Michael Dwyer / Associated Press
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Yale's Aidan Hynes (47) defends against Albany's Tehoka Nanticoke (1) during the second half in the semifinals of the NCAA Division 1 college lacrosse tournament in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, May 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) less
Yale's Aidan Hynes (47) defends against Albany's Tehoka Nanticoke (1) during the second half in the semifinals of the NCAA Division 1 college lacrosse tournament in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, May 26, 2018. ... more
Photo: Michael Dwyer / Associated Press
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Yale’s Ted Forst celebrates after scoring a goal against Albany on Saturday.
Yale’s Ted Forst celebrates after scoring a goal against Albany on Saturday.
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
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The Yale lacrosse team beat Albany 20-11 in a national semifinal on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.
The Yale lacrosse team beat Albany 20-11 in a national semifinal on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.
Photo: Steve Musco / Yale Athletics
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The Yale lacrosse team beat Albany 20-11 in a national semifinal on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.
The Yale lacrosse team beat Albany 20-11 in a national semifinal on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.
Photo: Steve Musco / Yale Athletics
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BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Connor Fields #5 of Albany scores a goal against Yale during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) less
BOSTON, MA - MAY 26: Connor Fields #5 of Albany scores a goal against Yale during the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on May 26, 2018 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. ... more
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
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Colarusso said he still considered the season a success.

"It's a big step for our program,'' Colarusso said. "We've never been to the Final Four before, so it's just huge for the underclassmen to get here and basically push them to get back to this point and farther."

Colarusso was far from the only player to blame for UAlbany's second blowout loss to Yale this season. The Great Danes had also lost 14-6 in New Haven, Conn., on April 22. And Colarusso did return to Saturday's game in the second quarter.

But still, Colarusso being removed with Yale up 7-0 with 4:34 left in the opening quarter was a bold punctuation to Yale's opening haymaker from which UAlbany never recovered.

"Again, it's a team game," Marr said. "Not everything is his fault. Some of those shots were right on top of him. But we just thought about taking him out and giving him a little bit of a break to try to get his head together a little bit for a couple of minutes."

Yale scored on its first seven shots on goal, after which sophomore goalkeeper Nate Siekerski entered the game. Colarusso came back in with UAlbany trailing 9-3 with 9:44 left in the first half.

"I just didn't play well,'' Colarusso said. "I kind of let down my defense, let down my team. There were some shots I should have had and you're supposed to make those big saves in big games, but I didn't get that done today."

It was also a superior display of offense from Yale's starting attack, which riddled a UAlbany defense that allowed only eight goals per game. Sophomore Matt Gaudet had six goals, senior Ben Reeves added five goals and four assists and sophomore Jackson Morrill had a hat trick and five assists.

"We knew they were a good team coming in, so we knew they were capable of that,'' senior midfielder Troy Reh said. "They have weapons all over the field. They came out ready to play and they punched us in the mouth right away and we weren't ready to respond."

UAlbany (16-3) did try to answer. The Great Danes scored three goals in a span of 1 minute, 3 seconds, from Sean Eccles, Connor Fields and Jack Burgmaster, to draw within 9-5 with 8:41 left in the half.

But the Great Danes were shut out for the rest of the half. Yale ran off three straight goals, including Morrill's back-breaker with 0.9 seconds remaining to send the Bulldogs into halftime with a 12-5 lead.

When Fields had back-to-back goals with a man up to cut Yale's lead to 12-7, the Bulldogs scored five unanswered goals to settle the issue. The Bulldogs had a 31-21 advantage in ground balls, 45-30 in shots and forced 14 UAlbany turnovers.

While Yale moves on to its first NCAA championship game, UAlbany bids farewell to its 11 seniors. Fields had three goals and five assists to finish second on the NCAA career points list with 364 despite playing through a right knee injury the past two months.

"It's tough,'' said Fields, breaking down in the postgame press conference. "I love it here. I couldn't ask for a better opportunity."

UAlbany freshman attack Tehoka Nanticoke, the team's co-leader with Fields with 81 points coming in, was held by Yale to one goal on six shots and no assists.

UAlbany sophomore faceoff specialist TD Ierlan set the NCAA single-season record at 79.1 percent. He was 18-for-33 against Yale's Conor Mackie on Saturday. Ierlan said the expectation is to get back to the Final Four next season.

"The goal is to get back and win it, though,'' he said. "We're not satisfied with getting here."

msingelais@timesunion.com - 518-454-5509 - @MarkSingelais