The Albertus Magnus men's soccer team fell to non-conference opponent Westfield State 1-0 on Wednesday night at Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass.
Despite eight saves from goalkeeper Donato Piroscafo (Naugatuck, Conn.), the Owls' scored an early first-half goal which proved to be the eventual game winner.
The Falcons took the first two shots of the contest before a header by Westfield State's Ryan Nickerson found the back of the net in the seventh minute to give the Owls an early lead. Teammate Dan Brady assisted on the play as he played the corner kick into the box for Nickerson.
Piroscafo made three saves in the opening frame and five in the second as the Owls outshot the Falcons 17-12 on the night and 8-5 in the first half.
The Falcons played hard down to the last minute and saw a good scoring opportunity late in the contest off of an Alexis Garcia (West Haven, Conn.) corner kick. Freshman Earl McCoy's (Hamden, Conn.) shot attempt sailed high in the 87th minute of play.
With less than 10 seconds left on the clock, the Falcons' final shot attempt barely missed as Lindsley Barrett's shot hit the crossbar.
Westfield State's Keith Hevey earned the win for the Owls in their home opener as he made two stops in net. With the loss, the Falcons fall to 0-2 on the year, while the Owls improve to 2-1 overall.
The Falcons remain on the road as they travel to Newbury on Saturday for a noon-time match-up.
