PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Albertus Magnus College men's lacrosse team could not overcome a fast start by the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales (R.I.) University, as the Falcons dropped a road Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) showdown, 20-5, on Wednesday evening.
Zaheim Wilkins (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) finished the game as the Falcons' leading scorer with two goals, while Andrew Ten (Trumbull, Conn.) and Jayme Toro (East Haven, Conn.) each had a goal and an assist. Dane Walsh (Bethany, Conn.) ended the day with 23 saves.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Johnson & Wales 20 | Albertus Magnus 5
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (5-8, 1-6 GNAC) | Johnson & Wales (7-5, 4-2 GNAC)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
JWU controlled the opening 15 minutes as the Wildcats scored four unanswered goals behind four different scorers, including a man-down strike, to take an early lead over the Falcons.
The Wildcats carried their offensive momentum into the second by scoring their fifth goal of the game less than 30 seconds in to increase their lead to 5-0. However, two minutes later, Ten was able to find the back of the net for the Falcons, scoring his 11th of the season and cutting the deficit to four, 5-1.
However, momentum shifted back in favor of the Wildcats as the hosts scored back-to-back goals less than 30 seconds apart to take a six-goal lead, 7-1, with 11:22 left in the half.
Following a good clear attempt from the Falcons, Toro took control of the ball and battled through the Wildcat defense to score his 13th goal of the spring at the 7:43 mark, bringing the score to 7-2.
JWU didn't let up offensively as the Wildcats went on a 4-0 run to take a commanding 11-2 advantage heading into a Falcons' timeout with 2:28 remaining. Out of the break, Albertus' Cody Walczak (Killingworth, Conn.) found Charles Stewart (Stratford, Conn.), who broke up the Wildcat run with his 13th goal of the season, and cut the deficit to within eight, 11-3.
The Falcons could not hold off the Wildcats as the hosts would head into the halftime break with a 10-goal lead, 13-3, after back-to-back goals with less than 30 seconds on the clock.
Albertus kicked off the third quarter with a man-up goal from Wilkins following an impressive feed from Walczak to make it a nine-goal game, 13-4, just two minutes into the frame. However, JWU countered the Falcons' goal with three unanswered goals over a 1:31 span, which was broken up by another tally from Wilkins on an assist from Ten at the 5:43 mark.
The Wildcats ended the contest with the final four goals to put the finishing touches on a 20-5 home victory.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus - Dane Walsh (L, 5-8): 20 Goals-Against | 23 Saves | 43 Shots on Goal
JWU - Trent Madigan (W, 6-2): 2 Goals-Against | 3 Saves | 6 Shots on Goal | 30:00
Chris April: 2 Goals-Against | 5 Saves | 7 Shots on Goal | 30:00
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The Falcons owned a 23-8 lead in saves.
- Albertus won 9 of 24 faceoffs.
- AMC tallied one man-up goal.
- The Falcons snagged 17 ground balls.
- Toro and Andrew Luzzi (East Haven, Conn.) paced Albertus with six shots apiece.
TOP PERFORMERS
Albertus:
Jayme Toro: 1 goal | 1 assist | 6 shots | 4 shots on goal | 5 ground balls
Andrew Ten: 1 goal | 1 assist | 3 shots | 2 shots on goal
Zaheim Wilkins: 2 goals | 4 shots | 2 shots on goal | 1 ground ball
JWU:
Chris Calisto: 4 goals | 2 assists | 11 shots on goal
Tyler Drago: 1 goal | 5 assists | 3 shots on goal | 1 ground ball | 1 caused turnover
Joe McIntyre: 4 goals | 1 assist | 9 shots on goal
NOTEWORTHY
- This is the ninth all-time meeting between the Falcons and Wildcats.
- Wilkins recorded his fourth multi-goal game of the year.
- Walsh recorded his fourth game of the season with 20+ saves and now has 448 stops in his career.
- Toro has tallied two points in three straight games.
- Walczak set a new career-high with two assists.
- Ten is now tied with Toro for third on the team in points with 20.
UP NEXT
The men's lacrosse team returns to the field on Friday, April 15th, with a road conference showdown against the Monks of Saint Joseph's College of Maine. Face-off is set for 2 PM in Standish, Maine.
