Albany Pregame Articles and Videos [NCAA 1st RD] | Page 2 | Syracusefan.com

Albany Pregame Articles and Videos [NCAA 1st RD]

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Nice article in that Albany Times Union on Reardon --how he grew up bleeding orange, but was told by SU he was the third goalie in his class. Sorry, I can't paste it right now, but it is easily findable.
 
Nice article in that Albany Times Union on Reardon --how he grew up bleeding orange, but was told by SU he was the third goalie in his class. Sorry, I can't paste it right now, but it is easily findable.
Goalie Blaze Riorden leads UAlbany lacrosse into NCAAs

Before Blaze Riorden became a star goalkeeper for the University at Albany, he idolized the Syracuse men's lacrosse program.

Growing up in a Rochester suburb, he turned his room into an Orange shrine. It has remained intact with Riorden living more than three hours away the past four years.

"He's going to kill me for telling you this, but if you walk in his bedroom, it's blue and orange with all Syracuse stuff all over it,'' said Riorden's father, Mike. "Big 'S' on the wall, the whole deal. He was a huge Syracuse fan."


Blaze Riorden explained he looked up to Orange greats like the Powell and Gait brothers. Raised in a lacrosse family, Riorden attended clinics and went to games at the Carrier Dome. It's where he'll play Sunday night in what could be the final match of his outstanding career.

The Great Danes (12-3) take on the eighth-seeded Orange (11-4) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 7:30 p.m.

Coincidentally, the Carrier Dome is also the place where Riorden began his college career. He started as a freshman and made 13 saves when UAlbany upset Syracuse 16-15 in double overtime in the 2013 season opener. It's the only time the Great Danes have beaten the Orange in 14 career meetings, all at the Carrier Dome.


"We've got a lot to prove, so I think we're excited," Riorden said.

The Great Danes enter the NCAAs coming off a stunning overtime loss to Hartford in the semifinals of the America East Tournament that snapped UAlbany's 28-game conference winning streak. Riorden was beaten for the winner on a 9-yard shot on which he never really had a chance.

UAlbany coach Scott Marr said it's Riorden who gives UAlbany a legitimate hope of pulling off an upset.

"There's no question Blaze has played well in all of our games,'' Marr said. "We feel really confident that we have a goalie that can steal the game."

ESPN lacrosse analyst Quint Kessenich, a former goalie at Johns Hopkins, ranked Riorden as one of the three best active players in the nation at his position, along with Brown senior Jack Kelly and Maryland senior Kyle Bernlohr.

Certainly, the hefty Riorden has performed at an elite level this season. He ranks third in the nation at 12.67 saves per match and seventh in save percentage at .572.

"The way Albany plays defense, they don't mind giving up shots,'' Kessenich said. "They put a lot of pressure on (Riorden). He's been spectacular this year. He'll have to be at his best, because he'll have to make 15 to 20 stops in this game. And Syracuse has got some really explosive outside shooters."

Riorden also owns the fastest shot on UAlbany's team, according to Marr, who called him "deceptively athletic."

Riorden played forward on the U.S. indoor team and drew national attention last spring when he scored a goal in a first-round win at Cornell. It was nominated for an ESPY for "Best Play."

In fact, Riorden began his lacrosse career as an attack before switching to goal as a fourth-grader in Fairport. He took a shot that broke the goalie's hand and then replaced him.

"Our goalie got hurt, and he volunteered to step in the cage,'' said Mike Riorden, who was his youth coach. "Him and I had a deal. I said, 'If you ever cry on the field, you can't play again.' He never did. So he became a goalie."

Riorden led Fairport High to a pair of Section V titles. He said he chose not to play for Syracuse, his favorite team, to avoid getting caught in a numbers game.

"They contacted me,'' Riorden said. "They're firm believers in carrying a lot of kids on the team. ... There were already two goalies recruited in my class, and they said, 'Do you want to be the third goalie in (this) class?' I grew up a big Syracuse fan, but it wasn't the right fit for me."

The right fit turned out to be UAlbany, which Riorden chose over an offer from Maryland. He has started four years for the Great Danes and earned America East Defensive Player of the Year honors this season.

"I couldn't have landed a better fit for myself,'' Riorden said. "I fell in love, and it's been awesome since I stepped on campus."

Riorden took his final exams this week and will pick up his degree in communications and business. He'll have a chance to play for Major League Lacrosse's Rochester Rattlers, who drafted him in January.

He might also do some interior decorating in his old bedroom.

"I think we've got to repaint that when I get home,'' Riorden said. "Maybe just some generic blue. The Syracuse (color) is too much."
 

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