NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College men's lacrosse team extended its winning streak to three straight as the Falcons defeated Thomas (ME) College, 20-6, in non-conference play on Saturday afternoon at Celentano Field.

Graduate student Derek Ralston (Guilford, Conn.) led the offensive attack for the blue-and-white, tallying a career-high seven goals to go with two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Freshmen Bailey Kirwin (Barrie, Ontario) and Matthew Hutchings (Mt. Kisco, N.Y.) also recorded an impressive game as the duo recorded eight combined goals behind four each. 

Graduate keeper Dane Walsh (Bethany, Conn.) earned his third straight win in goal after recording an 11-save performance over 45 minutes of play. Wally Carroll (Longbeach, N.Y.) and Judah LaRose (New Haven, Conn.) also saw action between the pipes for the Falcons.

THE BASICS
FINAL:  Albertus Magnus 21 | Thomas (ME) 6
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (3-0) | Thomas (ME) (0-1)
BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Albertus struck first as Hutchings netted his first goal of the game on an assist from Rocco Albanese (Nutley, N.J.) to give the Falcons the early 1-0 lead three minutes in.
• Two minutes later, Thomas' Hunter Cracker evened the game at 1-1 at the 11:52 mark after putting one past the Falcon keeper. 
• From there, the Falcons' offensive unit went to work, scoring six unanswered goals, including four from Ralston, over the remainder of the first to take a commanding 7-1 lead heading into the second quarter. 
• Similar to the first, Albertus and Thomas opened the second quarter trading goals over a seven-minute span, bringing the score to 9-3 in favor of the Falcons.
• A goal from Zaheim Wilkins (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) at the 6:16 mark sparked a scoring run for the hosts as Hutchings, Tyler Landsiedel (Stamford, Conn.), and Cooper Strecker (Chester, Conn.) all found the back of the net for the blue-and-white and increased the goal advantage to 10, 13-3, with 4:54 remaining on the clock.
• A goal from Thomas' Max Irons halted Albertus' run, 13-4, but Hutchings struck again with less than 33 seconds to complete the hat trick and put the Falcons up 10, 14-4, at the half.
• The Falcons recorded another big scoring quarter tallying five goals behind four man-up goals from Ralston, Strecker, Kirwin, and Hutchings to bring the score to 19-4 at the end of three.
• The final quarter saw both teams score two goals apiece to bring the final score to 21-6, Falcons. 
• Kirwin netted the Falcons' final two goals of the game on a pair of man-up opportunities and completed his first hat trick of the season. 

TOP PERFORMERS

Albertus:
Derek Ralston: 7 goals |  8 shots on goal | 2 ground balls | 2 caused turnovers
Matthew Hutchings: 4 goals | 3 assists | 8 shots on goal | 5 ground balls 
Bailey Kirwin: 4 goals | 5 shots on goal | 3 ground balls | 1 caused turnover

Thomas:
William Heywood: 1 goal | 1 assist | 3 shots on goal | 2 ground balls 
Max Irons: 1 goal | 1 assist | 2 shots on goal | 2 ground balls
Daniel Macwhinnie: 1 goal | 1 assist | 2 shots on goal | 2 ground balls | 1 caused turnover

NOTEWORTHY

• This is the first all-time meeting between the two programs. 
• Albertus outshot Thomas (ME), 53-46.
• The Falcons were 28-of-35 in clear attempts and went 11-for-31 in the face-off circle. 
• Albertus recorded seven man-up goals, while Thomas (ME) only recorded one. 
• Ten different players registered at least one caused turnover, including two from Ralston and Matt Bouchard (Berlin, Conn.).
• Ralston netted a career-high in goals and has opened 2023 with three straight hat tricks. 
• Hutchings has recorded back-to-back hat tricks for the Falcons. 
• Kirwin's four-goal performance was a season-high for the rookie. 
• Albanese finished with a team-high four assists.

UP NEXT
The men's lacrosse team returns to Celentano Field on Tuesday, March 7th, as the Falcons welcome SUNY Cobleskill for a non-conference tilt at 7 PM.