Cranston, R.I. – The Albertus Magnus College men's lacrosse team suffered a 14-11 loss to Johnson & Wales University on Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletics Complex in Cranston, R.I.. For the second consecutive game, sophomore attacker Charles Stewart (Stratford, Conn.) paced the Falcons' offense, falling one goal shy of a career high with four against the Wildcats.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Johnson & Wales 14 | Albertus Magnus 11
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (1-5, 0-4 GNAC) | Johnson & Wales (3-2, 3-2 GNAC)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind 3-0 in the first quarter, the Falcons answered with their first goal of the game with 1:37 left in the frame. Zaheim Wilkins (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) netted the first goal for the visitors, his 10th of the season.
Albertus' scoring started to pick up in the second quarter, as the team found the back of the net four times in the period. Stewart tallied his first goal of the day after catching a Jon Olson (Bellmore, N.Y.) pass in front of the crease before beating the keeper to the top-right corner.
Stewart found the back of the net again after a JWU score. At the 8:33 mark of the second, Olson brought the ball up in transition, finding Stewart for an easy goal at the doorstep to cut the Falcons' deficit to 4-3. Jayme Toro (East Haven, Conn.) scored next for the Falcons by winning a faceoff and taking the ball all alone before beating the goalie high to tie the score at 4-4.
Following three consecutive goals by the Wildcats, Mykel Stinson (Bridgeport, Conn.) broke the scoring drought by beating multiple defenders across the goal before finding paydirt. With the tally, Albertus trailed 7-5 with 1:46 left in the half.
Johnson & Wales added another goal to give itself an 8-5 lead at the halftime break. However, this advantage did not last long as the Falcons went on a tear to open the third quarter. Albertus netted the first three goals of the period to tie the score at 8-8.
Cody Walczak (Higganun, Conn.) opened the run by bouncing off an opposing defender before beating another and burying a shot into the back of the net.
The Falcons next took advantage of JWU's overzealousness on a transition chance, as Stinson brought the ball upfield before feeding Stewart at the foot of the crease for a man-down goal.
Wilkins tied the score at 8-all with 8:40 left in the third, cashing in on a driving attempt from the middle of the zone. Stewart earned the man-up assist by finding the driving Wilkins from the X.
Unfortunately for the Falcons, the Wildcats scored four straight goals over the final three minutes to take a 12-8 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Johnson & Wales added two more goals to begin the fourth to increase its lead to 14-8. Stewart got the Falcons back on the board with 5:59 left in the period with his fourth of the day to cut the visitor's deficit to 14-9. From behind the net, Stinson found Stewart on the right of the goalie for a quick-stick tally.
Albertus scored two more goals over the final two minutes to pull within three, 14-11. Olson netted the first goal after coming from behind the net and rocketing a scoop shot into the cage. Walczak was next to make the score sheet, sending a bouncing shot past the goalie with a man down at the 1:09 mark of the fourth.
Walczak's goal stood as the game's final, as the Wildcats held on over the final minute for the GNAC victory.
Dane Walsh (Bethany, Conn.) played all 60 minutes for the Falcons, finishing the game with 17 saves on 31 shots. Walsh has made 106 stops so far this season (17.7 saves per game).
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus – Dane Walsh (L, 1-5): Goals-Against 14 | Saves 17 | Shots 31
JWU – Andrew Costa (W, 2-0): Goals-Against 11 | Saves 1 | Shots 12
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• The Falcons were outshot in the game by a 52-30 margin.
• Albertus owned a 17-1 lead in saves.
• JWU picked up 42 ground balls to the Falcons' 30.
• Toro took all 27 faceoffs for Albertus and went 16-for-27.
Albertus:
Charles Stewart: 4 goals, 1assist, 4 shots on goal, 3 ground balls
Mykel Stinson: 1 goal, 2 assists, 1 shot on goal, 3 ground balls
Johnson & Wales:
Andrew Vasile: 5 goals, 5 shots on goal, 4 ground balls
Chris Calisto: 3 goals, 1 assist, 6 shots on goal
NOTEWORTHY
• After setting a career high with five goals in the Falcons' last game, Stewart netted four this afternoon.
• Walsh has tallied at least 17 saves in all but two games this season.
• Walczak recorded his first career multi-goal game today.
