The Albertus Magnus men's soccer team used three first-half goals to defeat Emmanuel College 3-1 on Saturday afternoon in their final regular-season contest of 2012. With the win, the Falcons finish the regular season with a 13-3-2 overall record along with an 8-1-1 showing in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.
On his third shot in less than two minutes, senior James Lucchesi (Norwalk, Conn.) netted the first goal of the day as he received a pass from Stephen Zapata (Hamden, Conn.) in the box and went one-on-one with the keeper for his fourth goal of the season. Lucchesi's two shots prior to his goal, both headers, were stopped by Emmanuel goalkeeper James Withers before the Albertus senior was able to get one into the back of the net. For Zapata, it was his team-leading 12th assist of the season.
Zapata added his own goal in the 22nd minute of play as he drilled a penalty kick into the lower left corner of the net to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead. It was the senior's 12th goal of the year as it proved to be the game winner, his sixth game-winning goal of the season.
Freshman Austin Tomin (Hamden, Conn.) scored the Falcons' final goal of the contest in the 40th minute as he received the ball in the box and beat the diving keeper for his first career goal. Carson Brown (Bakersfield, Calif.) earned the assist on the play as it was his first career assist as well.
Pawel Samolewicz scored Emmanuel's lone goal of the contest in the 78th minute as he cut the Falcons' lead to 3-1. Samolewicz finished on a through ball in the box as Kevin Shirley earned the assist on the play.
Donato Piroscafo (Naugatuck, Conn.) earned the win in net for the Falcons, his 13th of the season, while he made one save on the afternoon. The Falcons limited the Saints' shooting attempts as they held a 16-5 shots advantage in the contest, including a 10-1 clip in the first half.
James Withers picked up seven saves in the match as he allowed all three Falcon goals in the loss. Emmanuel falls to 4-11-2 overall on the year and 3-7-0 in GNAC play.
