New Haven, Conn. – The Albertus Magnus College men's lacrosse team lost to visiting Lasell, 18-3, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Saturday afternoon at Celentano Field.
With the loss, the Falcons move to 4-6 on the spring and 1-3 in league play, while the Lasers won their third in a row to improve to 9-3 overall and 4-1 in conference contests.
Three different Albertus Magnus players scored in the game with both junior Justin Bennet (Fairfield, Conn.) and sophomore Brennan Moore (Meriden, Conn.) registering one goal and one assist apiece. Junior attack Greg Buck (Berlin, Conn.) also found the back of the net for the hosts.
Defensively, junior Jon Gravius (Howell, N.J.) had a team-best three caused turnovers for AMC to go along with three ground balls. In the face-off circle, Bennet won six and scooped a team-best six ground balls.
Eleven different Lasers scored in the game, led by Austin Tomasetti with four markers and one helper, while Pat Egan chipped in two goals and a game-high three assists. Anthony Saitta and Josh Gallant both contributed two tallies apiece for Lasell.
Defensively, Mike Pino had five caused turnovers and Hilmar Smith caused three turnovers of his own. Chase Swift was a force in the face-off circle, winning 12, while Pete Dolan went 5-of-8 in the second half. Four different Lasers grabbed six ground balls in the game, as Lasell had 51 in total.
In the cage, AMC sophomore Jack Kerner (Merrick, N.Y.) was saddled with the loss. In just over 40 minutes of action, Kerner turned aside 15 shots. In relief, Falcon freshman John Brunetti (West Haven, Conn.) made five saves. Three different goalkeepers saw time for the guests. Junior Jorge Salazar got the start and made six saves in the first half en route to the win. During the second half, both Chris Thomas-Ikier and Andrew Modugno got in the game. Thomas-Ikier made six saves in the third frame and Modugno stopped three shots in the fourth.
Lasell opened the game with two goals in the first three minutes of play. Six minutes later, the Falcons cut the deficit to one as Buck scored a man-up goal. The strike was his 31st of the spring as he continues to re-write the record books with 104 in his career. Several minutes after Buck's tally, Saitta put the guests back up three with his first of the afternoon.
The visitors stretched their lead to five early in the second frame with three straight goals to begin the quarter. Albertus Magnus sandwiched goals from Moore and Bennet around a Laser marker to trail, 7-3 with less than a minute remaining in the opening half. Gallant closed the scoring in the half with under a minute remaining. He caused a turnover by Kerner at the net and beat him for his first of the game.
The Lasers outscored the hosts, 10-0, in the second half to earn their fourth GNAC triumph of the year. Lasell blew the contest open with nine unanswered tallies in the third and James Torosian capped the scoring in the game with a strike late in the fourth quarter.
Lasell was dominant in the face-off circle, winning 17 of 24 in the game. The Lasers converted on 1-of-3 extra-man opportunities, while the hosts went 1-of-5 with the extra attacker. LC held a 52-28 advantage in shots in were successful on 19-of-20 clear attempts.
Albertus Magnus returns to action on Thursday, April 21, with a home non-conference clash against in-state rival Mitchell that is slated to begin at 4:00 pm. Last spring, the Falcons scored a 10-9 come-from-behind victory versus the Mariners.
For the latest information on the men's lacrosse team and Albertus Magnus athletics, follow AMCAthletics on Twitter and visit AlbertusFalcons.com.
