NEW LONDON, Conn. – Behind an outstanding 13-point performance from sophomore Jon Olson (Bellmore, N.Y.), the Albertus Magnus College men's lacrosse team secured its first win of the 2021 season with a 15-9 victory over Mitchell College on Thursday, March 25. Olson set new career-highs with 13 points and eight assists.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 15 | Mitchell 9
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (1-2) | Mitchell (1-3)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons roared out of the gate on offense, whistling four shots in the game's first two minutes. A turnover from the Falcon attack led to a Mariners' goal two minutes into the game, giving the hosts the early 1-0 lead. However, the Falcons would respond quickly as a ground ball pick-up by Will Capalbo (Fairfield, Conn.) and a short pass from Olson into the stick of Cody Walczak (Higganun, Conn.) tied the game at 1-all. The teams battled for the next two minutes, with neither side gaining an advantage until a Mariners' turnover led to an Olson score to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. Two minutes later, Olson struck again, this time assisting Zaheim Wilkins (Mastic Beach, N.Y.), who fired it into the back of the net for the Falcons' third score of the day.
The Mariners answered quickly, striking on Weston Schumacher's goal to cut Albertus' lead to one, 3-2, with 5:30 remaining in the first quarter. Albertus won the next faceoff, which led to Olson connecting with Charles Stewart (Stratford, Conn.) for the blue and white's next tally. Olson's offensive reign of terror could not be stopped, as the sophomore attacker completed another pass, this time to senior Mykel Stinson (Bridgeport, Conn.), who promptly popped it into the net for the score, giving the Falcons a 5-2 advantage. Less than a minute later, Olson struck again, rifling a pass to Wilkins, who sank it into the net for the Falcons' sixth goal of the quarter. Mitchell responded in the final minute, scoring on a quick pass to bring the score to 6-3 at the end of the quarter.
The Mariners began the second quarter quickly, scoring forty-five seconds into the frame on a Ryan Foster goal. The hosts continued to chip away at the Falcon lead, scoring again at the 6:40 mark to make it a one-score game, 6-5. A Mitchell penalty gave the Falcons a man-up opportunity, and the blue and white took advantage, with Olson netting another goal to provide Albertus with a 7-5 lead. The score remained at 7-5 for the next few minutes before the Mariners found themselves in danger of another Olson attack. With just under three minutes left in the half, Stinson and Olson combined to net another goal. The Falcons scored a final tally of the quarter, with Olson assisting Stewart and giving them a 9-5 lead at the halftime break.
The third quarter started slowly for both teams, as neither side was able to gain an advantage. The teams went scoreless for the first five minutes of play before the Mariners' James Giovanniello scored a quick goal to cut the Falcon lead to three, 9-6. Albertus answered with Jayme Toro (East Haven, Conn.) winning the next faceoff and firing a pass from Capalbo into the back of the net to give the Falcons their 10th goal of the day. Two minutes later, Olson fielded a pass from Toro and slipped it into the net for goal number 11. The Mariners scored the quarter's final goal on a shot from Jade Shields and sent the teams into the fourth, with Albertus holding an 11-7 lead.
Albertus sealed the victory in the fourth quarter, holding the home team to just two goals over the final 15 minutes. Olson began the frame's scoring at the 12:09 mark before Mitchell answered with 11:05 left to cut its deficit to four, 12-8. After that goal, the Falcons retaliated with back-to-back tallies from Stewart. Olson assisted on the first Stewart goal and Stinson on the second. Olson put the cherry on top of his memorable day with his fifth and final goal with 5:08 remaining. After an inconsequential Mariners' tally, the game's final score settled at 15-9 Albertus.
Dane Walsh (Bethany, Conn.) continued his breakout junior season, tally 14 more saves to earn his second career win. Walsh has recorded 14-plus stops in every game this season, as he sits with 50 saves through three games.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus - Dane Walsh (W, 1-2): Shots on Goal 23 | Goals-Against 9 | Saves 14
Mitchell - Marcel Quinlan (L, 1-3): Shots on Goal 22 | Goals-Against 15 | Saves 7
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Mitchell owned a slim 42-38 advantage in shots.
• The Falcons edged the Mariners in saves, 14-7, and ground balls, 36-24.
• Albertus won 19 of the 26 faceoffs today for a 73.1 percent win rate.
• The Falcons tallied two man-up goals to Mitchell's zero.
Albertus:
Jon Olson : 5 goals, 8 assists, 16 shots, 9 shots on goal
Charles Stewart: 4 goals, 6 shots, 4 shots on goal
Mykel Stinson: 2 goals, 1 assist, 5 ground balls, 2 shots on goal
Mitchell
Joe Schley: 3 goals, 8 shots, 4 shots on goal
Jade Shields: 2 goals, 1 assist, 10 shots, 4 shots on goal,
Ryan Foster: 2 goals, 1 assist, 8 shots, 4 shots on goal
NOTEWORTHY
• Olson set new career highs with 13 points and eight assists.
• He was also one goal shy of tying his career-high in that category with five today.
• Stinson tied a career-high with his three points this afternoon.
• Stewart's four goals today are a new career-high for the sophomore.
• Walsh earned the win in net this afternoon, which is the second of his career.
• Walsh tallied his third consecutive double-digit save performance with 14.
• Walczak has scored a goal in every game this year.
• Toro was once again dominant at the faceoff X, winning 19 of 26 draws.