Albany a victory away from its first Final Four

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Albany lacrosse coach Scott Marr is on the cusp of reaching a lifelong goal - championship weekend.

All that stands in the way of his high-scoring Great Danes (16-2) making lacrosse's final four is top-seeded Notre Dame (11-2). The teams meet Saturday in Denver in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, a reprise of a scintillating quarterfinal matchup a year ago won by the Irish in overtime.

The Great Danes have won nine in a row since a loss at Syracuse six weeks ago, and they're using last year's heartbreaking 14-13 overtime setback to Notre Dame as a motivator. Behind three goals and three assists from Thompson, Albany built a 12-7 lead in the fourth quarter before Notre Dame rallied.

The Great Danes say they learned an important lesson - to finish a game.