NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Amidst a cold, ongoing drizzle, the Albertus Magnus Men's Lacrosse team defeated the MCLA Trailblazers by a convincing final score of 22-8 to earn the team's first victory of the 2020 season. Led by freshman Jon Olson (Bellmore, N.Y.), who found the back of the net six times, eleven different Falcons contributed on offense tonight, with five players tallying multiple goals.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 22 | MCLA 8
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (1-1) | MCLA (0-3)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons jumped out of the gates early offensively, scoring a goal off the opening faceoff. Olson tallied his first goal of the day off of a dump-off pass from Jayme Toro (East Haven, Conn.) after a successful faceoff.
Albertus scored two more times in the first five minutes, with Christopher Magnifico (Glastonbury, Conn.) and Gideon Cooper (Ridgefield, Conn.) both finding the back of the net. Olson capped the first quarter with his second goal of the evening at the 3:46 mark on an underhanded shovel shot from right in front of the crease.
The Falcons added six more goals in the second quarter to take a 10-4 advantage into the halftime break. Olson tallied the first goal of the second, on the man-up, for the hat trick. Magnifico and Toro followed up with unassisted goals to set the score at 7-0 for Albertus with 11:47 left in the quarter.
Following a score by MCLA's Johnny Hebert, Matt Davidson (Milford, Conn.) got the Falcons back to their scoring ways with his first collegiate tally. Olson and Cooper scored before the end of the period to give Albertus a 10-4 advantage.
The Falcons' lead grew to 12 goals, 17-5, after a seven-goal third. Olson found the back of the net twice in the period, while Magnifico, Toro, Cooper, Mykel Stinson (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Zaheim Wilkins (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) all had one score.
In the fourth quarter, the Falcons scored five more times to set the 22-8 final score. Stinson tallied the first goal of the fourth, while Carlos Trujillo (Norwalk, Conn.), Charles Stewart (Stratford, Conn.), Sinmisola Lawal (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Elienai Duquene (Stamford, Conn.) all scored once.
In between the pipes, sophomore Dane Walsh (Bethany, Conn.) earned his first career win with six saves in 50:36. Troy Keegan (Bethel, Conn.) also made his first collegiate appearance with two saves.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus - Dane Walsh (W, 1-1): Shots on Goal 12 | Goals-Against 6 | Saves 6
Troy Keegan: Shots on Goal 4 | Goals-Against 2 | Saves 2
MCLA - Brady Larkin (L, 0-2): Shots on Goal 46 | Goals-Against 22 | Saves 24
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• The Falcons were nearly perfect in clear attempts, going 20-for-22.
• Albertus dominated on offense, posting a 58-32 advantage in shots.
• MCLA recorded 28 turnovers, 15 of which were caused by the Falcons.
• The Trailblazers out-saved the Falcons 24-to-8.
• Albertus went 2-for-4 in man-up opportunities, while the Trailblazers went 1-for-5.
• Albertus out-scooped the Trailblazers, with 57 ground balls to the Trailblazers 26.
NOTEWORTHY
• This is the Falcons' first-ever showdown with MCLA.
• Walsh picked up his first career-win in between the pipes.
• Olson, Cooper, and Magnifico all tallied a hat trick for the Falcons.
• Olson also led the defensive attack with five caused turnovers, while Steven Moran (West Haven, Conn.) and Stinson caused two each.
• Toro won the battle in the circle, winning 23-of-29 faceoffs.
• Davidson finished the game with two points, after recording his first collegiate goal and assist.
• Duquene scored his first career goal in the fourth quarter.
• Trujillo and Stewart also netted their first collegiate goals in the fourth quarter.
• Cooper registered his first collegiate goal in the first quarter.
• Keegan made his first collegiate appearance in the net for the Falcons, recording two saves.
• MCLA's offensive attack was led by Johnny Hebert, who posted five goals on seven shot attempts.
UP NEXT
The Falcons will be back in action on Tuesday, March 10th, with an away tilt against Mt. St. Vincent at 4 PM.
