NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Albertus Magnus College men's lacrosse team opened the home portion of its 2022 schedule by tying the program's scoring record in a 26-4 win over Eastern Nazarene College on Sunday afternoon at Celentano Field.

Derek Ralston (Guilford, Conn.) led the Falcons' offense, finishing today's contest with a career-high 11 points on five goals and six assists. Charles Stewart (Stratford, Conn.) was not far behind with five goals and three assists, while Jayme Toro (East Haven, Conn.) netted four goals and two assists to go along with a 16-for-19 mark in the face-off circle. 

THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 26 | Eastern Nazarene 4
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (3-1) | Eastern Nazarene (0-2)
BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons set the tone early in today's game, scoring three times by the 12:35 mark. Toro kicked off the contest's scoring 1:12 into the game, before Ralston and Stewart both found the back of the net to make a 3-0 AMC lead early on.

Andrew Luzzi (East Haven, Conn.) made it a 4-0 Falcons' advantage with 7:34 left in the opening quarter, followed by Matt Bouchard (Berlin, Conn.) and Toro scoring in the final 2:32 to send Albertus into the second quarter up 6-0.

The second frame mirrored the first, as AMC dominated all facets of the game to score all seven goals in the period to take a 13-0 lead into the halftime break. Ralston, Stewart, and Andrew Ten (Trumbull, Conn.) recorded two goals in the second, while Toro had the other tally.

Albertus continued to pressure to start the third period, scoring five more unanswered goals. Stewart scored the first two of the frame on assists from Ralston before two Ralston tallies bookended a Cody Walczak (Higganun, Conn.) strike. Ralston's fifth and final goal gave the Falcons an 18-0 advantage by the 4:37 mark.

Eastern Naz caught some life at the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter, scoring three of the following four goals. Jamar Griggs netted two straight tallies to begin the fourth to make it a 19-3 Falcon advantage with 13:33 left in the game.

Albertus answered the Lions' run by ending the game with a 7-1 surge to complete the 26-4 home win. Walczak, Luzzi, Toro, and Ten all added to their goal totals over the run, while Shane Kelly (Madison, Conn.), Tyler Landsiedel (Stamford, Conn.), and Dane Walsh (Bethany, Conn.) all scored their first goals of the game. Walsh's goal came after he was taken out of the cage. In addition to picking up the win, Walsh's tally is the first of his career. Judah LaRose (New Haven, Conn.) played the final 9:03 in goal for the Falcons, making one save in his collegiate debut.

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus - Dane Walsh (W, 3-1): 3 Goals-Against | 6 Saves | 9 Shots on Goal | 50:57
Judah LaRose: 1 Goal-Against | 1 Save | 2 Shots on Goal | 9:03
Eastern Nazarene - Ryan Almeida (L, 0-2): 26 Goals-Against | 19 Saves | 45 Shots on Goal

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Falcons owned a dominating 74-27 advantage in shots.
• Albertus won 26-of-33 face-offs today.
• AMC had 21 successful clears on 27 attempts.
• The Falcons scooped up 65 ground balls to the Lions' 41.
• Ten and Ralston finished tied for the game-lead in shots with seven apiece.

Albertus:
Derek Ralston: 5 goals | 6 assists | 7 shots on goal | 5 ground balls
Charles Stewart: 5 goals | 3 assists | 6 shots on goal | 4 ground balls | 3 caused turnovers
Jayme Toro: 4 goals | 2 assists | 6 shots on goal | 13 ground balls
Andrew Luzzi: 3 goals | 1 assist | 5 shots on goal | 8 ground balls

Eastern Nazarene:
Jamar Griggs: 3 goals | 4 shots on goal

NOTEWORTHY

• The Falcons tied a program record with 26 goals, a mark the team has reached three times.
• Today's game marks the first-ever meeting between the Falcons and Lions.
• Ralston set career-highs with 11 points, five goals, and six assists.
• Stewart tallied a career-high eight points.
• Toro recorded career-highs with six points and four goals.
• Ten netted a season-high three goals.
• Walsh needed just six saves to improve to 3-1 on the season.
• Walsh's goal is the first of his career.
• LaRose made his season debut today, tallying one save.

UP NEXT
The men's lacrosse team returns to road action again on Tuesday, March 15, to play Mitchell College at 3 p.m. in New London, Conn.