PAXTON, Mass. - Behind a combined nine goals from Jon Olson (Bellmore, N.Y.) and Matthew Hutchings (Mt. Kisco, N.Y.), the Albertus Magnus College men's lacrosse team remained undefeated, 5-0, as well as opened Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play with a thrilling 13-10 victory over the AMCATS of Anna Maria College Saturday morning at Caparso Field.

Today's win was the Falcons' first victory over the AMCATS since 2016, when the blue-and-white won by a final score of 18-5.

Hutchings finished with a team-leading five goals and one assist for six points, while Olson scored four goals, all unassisted. Graduate keeper Dane Walsh (Bethany, Conn.) earned his fourth victory in goal for the Falcons after registering a career-high 30 saves.

THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 13 | Anna Maria 10
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (5-0, 1-0 GNAC) | Anna Maria (1-6, 0-1 GNAC)
BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first six minutes of play saw Anna Maria's Ethan Quinn and Albertus' Hutchings trade goals until back-to-back goals from the hosts broke the tie, 3-1, and forced Albertus to call a timeout at 4:44.
• With 1:16 left on the clock, Olson brought the Falcons' to within one, 3-2, scoring his 12th goal of the season on a nice feed from Hutchings.
• Solid defensive work between the pipes from Walsh kept the AMCATS from increasing their lead, stopping a pair of shots before the clock hit 0:00.
• Momentum stayed with the Falcons heading into the second quarter as they scored three unanswered goals from Hutchings, Zaheim Wilkins (Mastic Beach, N.Y.), and Olson within a four-minute span, respectively increasing their lead to two, 5-3.
• The AMCATS continued to pepper Walsh with a barrage of shots over the next two minutes but were unsuccessful against the Bethany, Conn. native, who made two saves on five shot attempts.
• At the 6:13 mark, Hutchings completed his fourth hat trick of the season, following an assist from Will Capalbo (Fairfield, Conn.), doubling the Falcons' lead to 6-3.
• Less than three minutes later, Olson became the second Albertus player to earn a hat trick on the afternoon on an unassisted tally at 3:40.
• Olson struck again for the Falcons with 2:22 left in the stanza, finding the back of the net for his fourth of the game while also pushing the visitors' lead to five, 8-3, heading into the halftime break.
• Anna Maria controlled the third quarter by outscoring the Falcons 4-3 and trimmed the deficit to four, 11-7.
• Albertus' three goals in the third stanza came from Kader Price (Walden, N.Y.), Hutchings, and Wilkins. 
• The AMCATS made things interesting as the hosts battled back to within two, 11-9, following a pair of goals from Liam Bedenko, but a fifth goal from Hutching pushed the advantage to three, 12-9, with 5:50 remaining in regulation.
• Twenty-five seconds later, Anna Maria's Girard made it a two-goal game, 12-10, but intensive defense from the Falcons and an insurance goal from Price sealed the road win for the blue-and-white. 

TOP PERFORMERS

Albertus:
Matthew Hutchings: 5 goals | 1 assist | 7 shots | 6 ground balls | 1 caused turnover
Jon Olson: 4 goals | 7 shots | 2 ground balls
Kader Price: 2 goals | 2 shots 
Zaheim Wilkins: 2 goal | 1 assist | 6 shots | 2 ground balls

Anna Maria:
Tommy Girard: 4 goals | 21 shots | 3 ground balls | 1 caused turnover
Ethan Quinn: 3 goals | 12 shots | 6 ground balls | 1 caused turnover
Liam Bedenkop: 2 goals | 2 assists | 9 shots | 6 ground balls

NOTEWORTHY

• Today's battle between the Falcons and AMCATS is the ninth all-time meeting. 
• The Falcons' last win against the AMCATS came in 2016 by a final score of 18-5.
• Albertus' 5-0 start of the season is a program best.
• Anna Maria won the battle in face-offs, 17-10, and outshot Albertus 65-30.
• Walsh's 30-save performance was a career-high for the goalie.
• Wilkins' assist was his sixth of the season.
• Olson has recorded back-to-back hat tricks.
• Hutchings netted his fourth hat trick of the season. 

UP NEXT
The men's lacrosse team resumes non-conference play on Wednesday, March 22, with a home tilt against SUNY Purchase. The face-off is set for 7 PM at Celentano Field.