ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — How many professional teams can you recall, if any, that have gone from finishing dead-last in its league, to playing for a league championship in the span of just one season? Well, that’s exactly what the Albany FireWolves have miraculously managed to do.
Glenn Clark’s bunch is on to the 2024 National Lacrosse League finals after completing a semifinal series sweep of the San Diego Seals with a 13-10 victory at MVP Arena Sunday night in game two of the best-of-three series. Albany had taken game one on Friday in San Diego, 14-12.
After going 3-15 in the 2022-’23 season, the FireWolves have undergone one of the greatest turnarounds the league, and arguably the sport of lacrosse, has even seen.
“It’s quite a story,” said Clark. “You know, we had a lot of dialog coming into the season; we thought we were going to be improved. But this…in my wildest dreams I didn’t think we’d get to the NLL final(s). I mean, that’s just…such a…almost unbelievable turnaround. I am exponentially proud of what they’ve done and how they’ve played. I mean, it’s…it’s incredible.”
Albany was bolstered by another stellar showing from its rookie class. Tye Kurtz recorded a game-high nine points on three goals and six assists. Alex Simmons recorded seven points with a hat trick and four assists, bringing his postseason point total to a staggering 19.
“We weren’t afraid of the moment; we were ready for it,” said Simmons. “We love this kind of stuff. This is why we play. So, it just…it didn’t seem like any game other than a regular season one, honestly. This is the kind of stuff that we’ve been waiting for our entire careers. Personally, it’s great for me, but…to see everyone in the locker room, you know, there’s guys that are beat up and guys that are hurting…it’s all worth it.”
Rounding out the scoring for the FireWolves was Ethan Walker, who tallied six points (2g, 4a); Travis Longboat netted three goals; Sam Firth added three pts (1g, 2a), and Colton Watkinson tacked on a goal. Goalie Doug Jamieson had another fantastic outing with 51 saves on 61 shots, while Joe Nardella, John Wagner and Jackson Nishimura contributed massively to the defensive effort, scooping up a combined 22 loose balls.
San Diego dominated the regular season meeting at MVP Arena back on Jan. 20, handing Albany a 14-7 loss – its largest margin of defeat this season. And the Seals made themselves right at home to open up Sunday’s contest, scoring the first two goals within the opening three minutes to put the FireWolves on their heels.
But Simmons got the home faithful rocking with a diving goal nearly seven minutes in to put his team on the scoreboard. That ignited a 3-0 run to close out the first quarter; Firth followed that up with a power-play goal. At the 1:27 mark, Longboat delivered a sidearm snipe that gave the ‘Wolves their first lead of the game at 3-2.
The Seals leveled the score at three to open up what proved to be a hectic second quarter. But Kurtz countered not even 60 seconds later to reclaim Albany a 4-3 edge.
The playoff intensity showed with a combined seven penalties in the quarter, five of which were committed by San Diego. Back-to-back cross-checking calls against the Seals’ Eli Gobrecht and Kyle Rubisch led to two straight FireWolves power-play goals, as Walker and Simmons both found the back of the net, extending the margin to three at 6-3.
San Diego answered with a man-up goal of their own, and then were able to sneak another shot past Jamieson in the final minute of the quarter, closing the gap to 6-5 by halftime.
Albany’s second-half showing vindicated Simmons’ claim that the youngest team in the league doesn’t back down from big moments. San Diego struck first in the third quarter to tie the game at six, but the FireWolves offense answered with another devasting run, sparked by a full-extension finish from Longboat just outside the crease. Kurtz built on that momentum with a short-handed goal before Longboat struck again – this time while a man-up, growing Albany’s lead back to three goals at 9-6.
That was all the cushion the FireWolves needed. San Diego got one back on the power-play with 2:41 remaining in the third, but Simmons responded nearly two minutes later with the team’s fifth power-play goal, restoring the ‘Wolves’ three-goal edge by quarter’s end.
With a trip to the finals on the line, Albany showed its poise down the stretch, starting the final stanza with a Walker goal to push the score to 11-7. After San Diego’s Austin Staats and Kurtz traded hat-trick earning goals, the Seals made their final push, and were able to score twice to close the gap to 12-10 with still 5:09 remaining.
San Diego pulled its goalie with just minutes to play, but the Albany defense kept the Seals at bay. That unit delivered another stop at the under-two-minute mark, and FireWolves captain Colton Watkinson provided the exclamation point, streaking down the floor to bury an empty-net goal and send MVP Arena into a frenzy. That proved to be the final score of the night.
Albany’s improbable season comes to a head in a best-of-three-game championship series with New York State rival Buffalo. The NLL Cup currently resides with the defending champion Bandits. The FireWolves swept the regular season series, though, winning 17-13 at home on Dec. 9, 2023, and in Western New York, 13-10, on Feb. 24.
Game 1 is set for Friday, May 17 at 7 p.m. in Albany. The series will shift to Buffalo’s KeyBank Center for Game 2 on Saturday, May 18 at 7:30. If necessary, Game 3 will be at MVP Arena on Friday, May 24 at 7:00.