LA PLUME, PA - The Albertus Magnus College men's lacrosse team improved to 7-2 on the season as the Falcons defeated the Giants of Keystone College by a score of 23-11 Thursday evening in non-conference play.

Albertus was led by freshman Matthew Hutchings (Mt. Kisco, N.Y.), who recorded a career-high 10 goals and three assists for 13 points. Senior Jon Olson (Bellmore, N.Y.) also recorded a career-game for the blue-and-white as he tied his career-high 18 points behind a season-best 11 assists and seven goals.

Grad student Dane Walsh (Bethany, Conn.) earned the win between the pipes for the Falcons. Wally Carroll (Longbeach, N.Y.) and Judah LaRose (New Haven, Conn.) also appeared in goal for the Falcons.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Albertus Magnus 23 | Keystone 11
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (7-2) | Keystone (0-5)
BOX SCORE

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Albertus and Keystone came out of the gate ready to battle, as both teams traded goals early in the opening quarter.
• A goal from Derek Ralston (Guilford, Conn.) on an assist from Olson at 13:04 kicked off the scoring for the Falcons, followed by a Giants goal just 42 seconds later from Ryan Smith. 
• The dynamic duo of Olson and Ralston struck again as the pair scored back-to-back goals within 35 seconds to put the Falcons up 3-1.
• At the 8:49 mark of the first, Hutchings gave the Falcons a three-goal cushion, 4-1, on a man-up opportunity, but a Giants' Anthony Hott goal cut the lead in half, 4-2.
• Over the next five minutes, Albertus scored four unanswered goals, including two from Hutchings and one from Olson and Bailey Kirwin (Barrie, Ontario), to increase its lead to six, 8-2.
• A second goal from Keystone's Smith closed out the scoring for the first quarter and brought the hosts to within five, 8-3.
• The second quarter started with Keystone and Albertus trading goals and increasing the score to 11-6 until two straight goals from Kirwin and goals from Hutchings and Olson gave the Falcons a 15-6 lead at the half. 
• The Falcons controlled the third quarter as the visitors outscored the Giants 6-2 to take a commanding 21-8 lead.
• The third quarter was highlighted by three goals from Hutchings, two from Olson, and one from Tyler Landsiedel (Stamford, Conn.).
• Despite outshooting the Falcons in the fourth quarter, 11-9, Keystone was unable to secure the late comeback and fell to the blue-and-white, 23-11. 
• Albertus' final two goals of the game came from Olson at 12:55 and Hutchings at 8:40. 

TOP PERFORMERS

Albertus:
Matthew Hutchings: 10 goals | 3 assists | 17 shots | 2 ground balls | 1 caused turnover
Jon Olson: 7 goals | 11 assists | 10 shots | 5 ground balls
Bailey Kirwin: 3 goals | 4 assists | 5 shots | 2 ground balls

Keystone:
Ryan Smith: 6 goals | 15 shots | 2 ground balls
Anthony Hott: 3 goals | 1 assist | 9 shots | 3 ground balls | 1 caused turnover
Izaiah Simon: 2 goals | 1 assist | 8 shots | 3 ground balls

NOTEWORTHY

• Today's meeting between Albertus and Keystone was the first in program history.
• For the fourth time this season, the Falcons' offensive unit scored 20+ goals.
• Albertus recorded a season-high in assists with 21. 
• Hutchings recorded a career-best 10 goals.
• Olson has scored in the last six games for the Falcons, totaling 28 on the season. 
• In today's game, Olson tabbed a career-high 11 assists. 
• Olson recorded 18 points to tie the single-season record in points, which was previously set by Olson this season against Mitchell.
• Kirwin netted his third hat trick of the season and recorded season-highs in assists with four and points with seven. 
• Rocco Albanese (Nutley, N.J.) posted a team-high two caused turnovers. 
• LaRose recorded a career-high three saves in today's road victory. 
• Ralston finished with two goals and two assists. 

UP NEXT
The men's lacrosse team returns home and resumes Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Saturday, April 1st, against the Monks of Saint Joseph College of Maine. The game time is set for 2:30 p.m. at Celentano Field.