An Oral History Of Dyson Williams’ Saturday Night To Remember

15 games into his maiden NLL season, Albany FireWolves forward Dyson Williams has lived up to every morsel of hype ever bestowed upon the first overall selection in the 2023 NLL Draft. The Duke alum lead all rookies with 22 goals and 31 assists amid a historic freshman class that also features former Blue Devils teammate/Wings phenom Brennan O’Neill.

Brought up in the Greater Toronto Area community of Oshawa, Ontario, the 25-year-old star in the making learned the nuances of the game, beginning at a formative age, courtesy of the tutelage conveyed by legendary father Shawn Williams. The elder Williams played 17 superstar-level seasons before assuming head coach and general manager duties for the Las Vegas Desert Dogs.

In the wake of a Friday night game just down the road in Buffalo, Coach Williams was on hand at Albany’s MVP Arena for what would turn out to be an extra special Saturday night for the fabled lacrosse family. In the culminating matchup of the Tucker Out Lymphoma Cup (in-season tournament in honor of the late Tucker Williams), older brother Dyson posted a hat trick, climaxed by an utterly spectacular behind-the-back overtime goal, handing the FireWolves an 11-10 triumph over those very same Buffalo Bandits.

After relinquishing a 10-7 fourth quarter advantage and losing reigning rookie of the year Alex Simmons to injury, Dyson took matters into his own hands, striking gold 6:52 into the bonus session.

 

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This competition represented the National Lacrosse League at its very best. Incredible skill, top-notch goaltending (57 saves from Albany’s Doug Jamieson) and down-to-the-wire drama, all taking place in front of a large and electric crowd in the capital city of The Empire State.

It was a career-high 57 saves for Doug Jamieson as the FireWolves take down the Bandits 11-10 in Overtime

👀 Dougie Highlights pic.twitter.com/nPZ9nGeBKt

— NLL (@NLL) March 23, 2025

With an unexpected slow start now firmly affixed in the rearview, the defending NLL runner-up’s currently own a 6-9 record, thanks to their ongoing three-game winning streak. Suddenly, a return trip to the postseason has re-entered the consciousness.

 

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Let’s Hear From Some Folks Who Were Active Participants in This Exceptional Evening.

Dyson Williams

FireWolves Forward

I play every game for Tucker, but this one had Tucker’s name on it. The Tucker Cup games meant a little bit more. My whole family was in attendance, and it was a special night to have the whole family there. I had the lime green tape on my stick. I kept Tucker in my mind as always. We hadn’t won a Tucker Out Cup game yet the entire season. So, I really wanted to win for Tuck Dog.

Brendan Glasheen

FireWolves Play-By-Play Announcer

The hotel I stayed in was about two miles from the arena. The lobby was flooded with Bandits fans, so I had an inkling the atmosphere was going to be loud and chaotic. Albany showed out, too. The “DOUG-ie” and “D-fence” chants popped like never before. You had a baseline of folks who knew the history with last year’s Finals, but a whole new layer was added Saturday night. The concourse was also loaded. There was urgency from the team, given their playoff hopes, and from the organization, to prop up this particular game to another level.

Dan Bahl

FireWolves Color Commentator

The atmosphere on Saturday was unlike anything I’ve seen during a regular-season game at MVP Arena. The size of the crowd aside, my biggest takeaway was the energy brought by the Albany fans. Bandits’ fans are loud, boisterous, and extremely passionate, three tremendous characteristics for a fanbase in any sport. I was very impressed and proud of the fact that between raucous cheers for big plays, the FireWolves’ faithful matched and even exceeded the energy brought by the visiting fans the entire game.

Buffalo Bandits vs Albany
Firewolves

Dyson Williams

FireWolves Forward

It all started the weekend prior, getting a big one-goal win over the Georgia Swarm when setting the attendance record at MVP Arena. I think after that win, there was a lot of buzz around Albany. It’s a great game to go to, a great sport to watch for the people who haven’t ever ventured out to a game. Having the back-to-back champs in town, a championship rematch. They have a fan base that travels really well, but that helps us a lot too.

Doug Jamieson

FireWolves Goalie

We’ve had a bunch of those instances where we have trouble with late leads. It’s something we’ve been working on as a team. With the Buffalo offense, it’s a matter of time till they get going. Josh Byrne had a big one at the end. I thought we played him great. Dhane Smith had a couple. You just know they’re going to score. I think it says a lot about how we recovered and how I was able to settle in come the overtime. It was big how we responded. It was a really cool moment.

Glenn Clark

FireWolves Head Coach/General Manager

We have a young group that is still learning to navigate this league. We had some key injuries to veteran players early on and had difficulty closing out our close games early in the season.  It’s been a combination of getting some veteran leadership back in our lineup, as well as the growth of our group. The NLL is a very tough league and learning to win is a very real part of the player and team journey.

Doug Jamieson

FireWolves Goalie

The way I was playing on Saturday, I was feeling so good. I wasn’t really nervous or anything. You can’t really think about that too much. I was pretty comfortable. You got to be ready to go. Either they could have scored, or we could score, it’s just the way the ball bounces. I think the lacrosse Gods were on our side. I had goosebumps when Dyson’s game-winner happened.

Dyson Williams

FireWolves Forward

Throughout my childhood, I love throwing BTBs, whether it was in games or just playing backyard lacrosse. I grew up watching guys like my dad, John Grant Jr., and John Tavares play, It’s like the stuff they were doing. I looked up to them. It’s all fun to watch, I love the creativity. The BTB is the right play in that particular moment, from that spot on the floor. I was getting pressured, so instead of trying to pull it over the top of the defender, I used the angle to wrap it around them, bringing my stick to the inside.

Brendan Glasheen

FireWolves Play-By-Play Announcer

My gosh, you never know when the overtime game winner is going to happen. That’s the beauty and the grind of it. Both teams generated solid chances. At the same time, they were both wearing down. It was a chess match. Albany had lost Alex Simmons, so playing three left-handed forwards with two righties presented a dynamic I’m not sure Buffalo was ready for. The Bandits clearly had a plan to lock down Simmons at all costs. In OT, Albany had tossed a righty defenseman on the floor every couple of offensive shifts to present a different look. Kurtz rifled a shot, heck of a play by Kyle Jackson to secure the rock, and Dyson’s shot almost felt like a “what the heck, let’s try this.” And he delivered. There was a sense of relief, but also a feeling of “we belong.”

Doug Jamieson

FireWolves Goalie

I saw the shot leave Dyson’s stick, but I couldn’t see if it went in. I did notice Dyson’s reaction, and it looked like he was pretty confident. When he went and jumped off the boards, it was just a really cool moment with the team we’re playing, the crowd and it being Dyson scoring that goal.

Dan Bahl

FireWolves Color Commentator

You could truly cut the tension with a knife during the extra frame, and I give credit to the players for staying focused and battling on each possession, especially given that Buffalo was coming off of a game the previous night. That said, the build-up of tension in the building made the eruption of emotion on the game-winner all the more powerful. The poise Dyson showed in making that play, in that moment, with the stakes that high, shows exactly why he was a No.1 overall pick.

Glenn Clark

FireWolves Head Coach/General Manager

It was a huge win for us to stay alive in the playoff race.  It was a win against the measuring stick team in our league. Dyson’s BTB was the right shot in that situation. He had to get his stick free, late in the clock and took a skilled shot on goal. The result was exciting for our team and our fans.  It was a great finish for us, a large crowd, and a game we desperately needed against the best team in the league.

Dyson Williams

FireWolves Forward

Ending that overtime, obviously, there was a ton of relief. It was a very long game and long overtime. The boys were definitely feeling it, definitely tired. We needed that win. We’ve been grinding all year, but we haven’t lost any trust in ourselves.

Dyson Williams finds the back of the net THREE times, including the game-winning goal, as the FireWolves take down the Bandits 11-10

👀 Dyson Highlights pic.twitter.com/zCMr5SRnQW

— NLL (@NLL) March 23, 2025

Doug Jamieson

FireWolves Goalie

I’ve struggled at points this season. Earlier in the year, we played Buffalo, and I got pulled pretty early. We circled this game. I wanted to have a good bounce back. I like beating those guys. I think everyone does because it’s kind of rare. They’re such a talented team. I’ve always played pretty decent against them. It meant a lot to have a good game, for the offense to get us a lead early the way they did, and then being able to score that goal in overtime. It was absolutely huge.

Dyson Williams

FireWolves Forward

Doug Jamieson showed us why he’s always a goalie of the year contender, and why Dougie is Dougie. Kudos to him for absolutely putting on a show and keeping us in the game. He is the backbone of our team and it’s great to see him succeed that way. Also, after Alex Simmons went down, he came out to the bench and was on the floor celebrating with the team. It goes to show how amazing of a teammate he is. I think we truly did feed off of Simmons’ energy.

Glenn Clark

FireWolves Head Coach/General Manager

Dyson has been great for us. His season has followed the path we predicted. He showed his skill and athleticism early on and is getting better at managing the game. There is so much for young players to learn when they enter the league. The speed is different, the athletes are bigger and stronger and the systems are more polished.  It takes time to figure all that out, get comfortable, and then execute at a high level. Dyson is adding more and more to his repertoire each game he plays.

Dyson Williams

FireWolves Forward

With the record that we have, it’s a must-win game in our eyes. It’s a playoff game. It’s our second-to-last home game against the defending champs, who we lost to in the final. Obviously, a ton of orange behind their bench, which made it a really cool atmosphere to be a part of. It was loud for every single play and every single goal.