NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Cooper Strecker (Chester, Conn.) and Anthony Brikes (Staten Island, N.Y.) were a force to be reckoned with as the duo recorded hat tricks in the Albertus Magnus College men's lacrosse non-conference 9-6 victory over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) on Wednesday at Celentano Field.

Strecker notched four goals, while Brikes collected three goals and an assist. Sean Keenan (Franklin Square, N.Y.) and Zayre Bradley (Norwalk, Conn.) each netted a goal and DaKari Coleman (Norwalk, Conn.) secured an assist.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus Magnus 9 | MCLA 6

RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (4-3)  | MCLA (1-5)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The teams played to a stalemate through the first quarter with a pair of MCLA goals sandwiched between a pair of scores for Albertus. Brikes notched an unassisted tally at 8:05 off a failed clear for the visitors thanks to a caused turnover and groundball by Strecker. A pair of consecutive goals by MCLA gave the visitors the 2-1 edge, before Strecker netted the equalizer off the side pass from Coleman. Alec Kovalsky (Orange, Conn.) forced a turnover by the Trailblazers to eventually set up the second Albertus goal. 
• Neal Brierley gave the Trailblazers the lead again with his first goal of the day in the second period, only to have the Falcons respond back with a goal from Keenan at 9:32. Kovalsky scooped up the groundball after another costly turnover by the visitors. At the top of the attack area, Keenan ran through a defender for a dart into the netting.
• Just 33 seconds later, MCLA jumped back in front when Anthony Andolina found the back of the cage with 9:59 remaining in the half.
• Albertus answered back however with two more goals before half time from Strecker and Brikes to go into the intermission leading 5-4. Jay Abella (Staten Island, N.Y.) caused a turnover by the Trailblazers for Strecker's game-tying fourth goal, off the pass from Brikes. Twenty-eight seconds later, Brikes connected for his own goal ignited by an MCLA turnover and groundball by Hayden Grigas (Milford, Conn.).
• A single third quarter goal at 1:06 was scored by Brikes for the hosts, despite Albertus holding a 16-2 lead in shots during the quarter.
• Strecker scored the fourth straight goal for the Falcons with 11:55 remaining in the game.
• Brierley narrowed the gap to three for the visitors, but Strecker and Bradley padded Albertus' lead with back-to-back unassisted tallies with five minutes left in the quarter.

BETWEEN THE PIPES

Albertus 

• Nick Duryea (W, 4-3) 14 Shots | 8 Saves | 6 Goals Allowed

MCLA 

• Quentan Polkowski (L, 0-3) 33 Shots | 24 Saves | 9 Goals Allowed

TEAM STATS

SHOTS: Albertus Magnus 65 | MCLA 20

GROUND BALLS: Albertus Magnus 48 | MCLA 24

CLEARS: Albertus Magnus 10/10 | MCLA 11/17

MAN-UP: MCLA 0/3 | Albertus Magnus 0/6

FACEOFFS: Albertus Magnus 14 | MCLA 5

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES

Albertus

• Cooper Strecker 4 Goals | 12 Shots | 8 SOG | 3 Groundballs | 2 Caused Turnovers
• Anthony Brikes 3 Goals | 1 Assist | 17 Shots | 10 SOG | 5 Groundballs

MCLA

• Neal Brierley 3 Goals | 4 Shots | 4 SOG | 1 Groundball | 1 Caused Turnover
• Anthony Andolina 2 Goals | 7 Shots | 3 SOG | 3 Groundballs

NOTEWORTHY

• Strecker has scored in three-straight games for the Falcons.
• Abella recorded a career-high five caused turnovers.
• Brikes earned his second hat trick this season, while Strecker collected his first this season.

UP NEXT

Albertus remains at Celentano Field for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game against Regis College (Mass.) on Saturday, March 29 at 1 p.m.