He practiced with his new teammates on Wednesday in a light snow at John Fallon Field as UAlbany gets closer to the Feb. 10 opener against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome.
“Yeah, it’s awesome,” Carino said. “I mean, it’s been three years. My last time playing lacrosse was my junior year (of high school) and COVID took away my senior year, so it’s just great to be back.”
Carino played both sports at Arcbishop Stepinac in White Plains. He committed to Syracuse lacrosse while in high school before changing his mind and signing with UAlbany football.
“For me, that (lacrosse) was like a backup plan if the football thing didn’t work out, and I’m back,” Carino said.
He spent three years mainly as a UAlbany backup before entering the NCAA transfer portal in November. He said he spoke with Bryant, Central Connecticut, Georgetown and other schools about football. But he also reached out to UAlbany men’s lacrosse coach Scott Marr.
Carino accompanied the lacrosse team on its annual offseason trip to the Dippikill Wilderness Retreat in Warrensburg.
“We didn’t have any cellphones for three days and we had a lot of team bonding,” Carino said. “Just a great group of guys. There’s something special with this group of guys. I just really want to be a part of it.”
He said he also wanted to stay at UAlbany, where he enjoyed the culture and made many friends.
Carino is a sophomore with three years of lacrosse eligbility remaining.
Carino said he toyed with a lacrosse stick as a UAlbany freshman during the down time created by the pandemic. He is regaining his stick skills while getting into lacrosse shape. With constant running, lacrosse demands a different kind of fitness than Carino had in football with its shorter bursts of speed and action.
“Coach Marr said it’s kind of like riding a bike,” Carino said. “You’ve just got to get used to it for a little bit and I’m getting my wind up, like, running-wise, playing defensive middie. But I’m having a blast. It’s a lot of fun.”
Marr said Carino is focusing on defensive midfielder but has the ability to play a two-way role because of his intelligence.
“He reached out to me, and when he did, I certainly welcomed it,” Marr said. “Obviously, he was a big-time recruit for Syracuse. … He brings a really good, positive mentality and work ethic to our team. Again, football is a very disciplined sport. As a quarterback, he had to know so many different things, knowledge-wise and plays, and then being a leader as well. He’s already stepped in and you can feel his presence as a leader.”
Marr said Carino is also very attentive in team meetings and is constantly taking notes.
“He’s getting into lacrosse shape,” Marr said. “That’s the biggest thing is getting into lacrosse shape, being able to run. But he does another thing better each day.”
UAlbany senior attack Graydon Hogg said the team has quickly accepted Carino.
“We watched him play a lot,” Hogg said. “He was a really good quarterback. We’re definitely glad he made the jump.”
Carino said he misses football “a litle bit,” but is focused on lacrosse. He’ll open his college lacrosse career at the Carrier Dome, where he played two years ago. UAlbany football lost 62-24 at Syracuse on Sept. 18, 2021, when Carino came off the bench to throw for one touchdown and run for another.
“I played in the Carrier Dome, awesome, great atmosphere,” Carino said. “I got a lot of playing time during that and to open there (Feb. 10), it’s going to be a really cool atmosphere and we’re really excited.”
Note: Marr said senior midfielder Connor Fingar and junior attack Camden Hay are both out for the year with ACL injuries.
This content was originally published here.
