NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College men's lacrosse team opened the 2023 season with a bang by defeating the Vikings of Salem State University by an 11-6 final score on Friday evening under the lights at Celentano Field. 

THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 11 | Salem State 6
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (1-0) | Salem State (0-1)
BOX SCORES

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons opened the game by scoring twice in the final 2:48 of the first quarter. 
• Derek Ralston (Guilford, Conn.) netted the first of his four goals at the 2:48 mark, while Zaheim Wilkins (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) found the back of the net with 30 seconds left in the frame. 
• Ralston opened the second quarter with a goal, which helped the Falcons win the frame by a 3-1 margin. 
• Another Ralston tally was followed by Matthew Hutchings' (Mt. Kisco, N.Y.) first collegiate goal to give Albertus a 5-1 halftime lead. 
• The Vikings opened the second half with two straight man-up goals, but AMC answered with two tallies of their own to take a 7-3 advantage to the fourth quarter. 
• Hutchings scored his second of the evening, closely followed by Kader Price (Walden, N.Y.). 
• The fourth quarter was a high-scoring frame as the two teams combined for seven goals. 
• AMC held a 4-3 lead in goals in the period, with Price scoring twice and Tyler Landsiedel (Stamford, Conn.) and Ralston scoring once. 
• By taking the fourth, the Falcons secured an 11-6 home victory to open the 2023 season. 
• DaKari Coleman (Norwalk, Conn.) was outstanding in the circle in his collegiate debut, going 15-for-21 on faceoffs. 
• In goal, senior Dane Walsh (Bethany, Conn.) earned his ninth career win by making 11 saves, while Wally Carroll (Longbeach, N.Y.) made his first collegiate appearance. 

TOP PERFORMERS

Albertus:
Derek Ralston: 4 goals | 5 shots on goal | 5 ground balls
Kader Price: 3 goals | 1 assist | 4 shots on goal
Matthew Hutchings: 2 goals | 2 assists | 4 shots on goal

Salem State:
Lake Fleming:  3 goals | 6 shots on goal | 5 ground balls
Aidan Hollingsworth: 1 goal | 1 assist | 1 shots on goal
Sean Roach Jr.:  2 goals | 3 shots on goal | 3 ground balls

NOTEWORTHY

• Tonight's game marked the second all-time meeting between the Falcons and Vikings.
• Albertus is now 2-0 in the all-time series after tonight's 11-6 win. 
• Today's game was the first season-opening win for the Falcons since 2017.
• Hutchings scored his first career goal for Albertus. 
• Landsiedel matched his season total last year with 1 goal. 
• Coleman went 15 for 21in faceoffs. 
• Walsh recorded 11 saves in net for the blue-and-white.

UP NEXT
The Falcons will hit the road for their next game as they head to the Garden State to play Centenary (N.J.) University at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1.