Sept. 21, 2002

Final Stats

FAIRFIELD, CT - It's an old cliché to say that the score of a game is not indicative of the way it was played. On one a late, hot summer day on Campus Field at Sacred Heart University Saturday, 2387 Pioneer faithful left shaking their heads and wondering what cyclone hit their team in the final quarter.

The University at Albany scored 21 unanswered points in the final seven minutes of the game on Saturday to defeat Sacred Heart and put a big dent into hopes the Pioneers had of repeating as Northeast Conference champions.

After a scoreless first quarter, senior kicker Tim Redican (Meriden, CT) got the Pioneers on the board with a 38-yard field goal just a few minutes into the second. SHU made it 10-0 when junior QB Joe Kroells (Burbank, CA) found junior receiver Marlon Ward for a 66-yard touchdown pass with 4:00 left in the first half.

On their next possession, Albany got a 42-yard kickoff return by Ryan McLean and started at the Pioneer 48-yard line. Five plays later, junior RB Gary Jones plunged into the endzone from two yards out to cut the gap to 10-7.

Sacred Heart, 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the NEC, wasn't done for the half yet. Kroells engineered a five-play, 62-yard drive capped by a seven-yard pass to senior receiver Andy Gonzalez (Willimantic, CT). The score was set up by a 47-yard dash by freshman tailback Ed Pricolo (Johnston, RI) to the Albany 10-yard line.

On their first drive of the second half the Great Danes got a 22-yard field goal from Stan Zylinski, at the tail end of an 11-play, 58-yard drive. Albany would tie it at 17-17 with 2:52 left in the third on a nine-yard run by quarterback Ryan Roeder on an option play.

In the meantime, the Pioneer offense sputtered in the third. They would manage just 26 yards of offense in the quarter. The one drive where it looked like Sacred Heart would be able to generate some points ended when a ball thrown by Kroells to sophomore Mike Peshler, bounced off the receivers pads and was intercepted by Albany's Will Boone.

The teams continued to be deadlocked until the middle of the fourth quarter. Jones broke free for a 64-yard run on a counter for a touchdown with 6:56 left to give the Great Danes a 24-17 lead.

The Pioneer offense again was unable to move the ball in their next drive and were forced to punt. Starting on their own 35, the Great Danes broke the game open on the third play when Jones again broke a counter and scampered 59 yards for his third TD of the contest. He would finish the game with 199 yards on just 14 carries.

With just 3:06 left, Kroells tried to rally the troops one last time but was intercepted on his second attempt by Albany's Brian Eidens, who returned it 21 yards to the SHU 27. Eddie Unverzagt would put the finishing touches on the Pioneers five plays later with a one-yard plunge with :46 left.