NEW LONDON, CONN. - The Albertus Magnus College men's soccer team opened their 2021 fall season with a nail-biting 1-0 victory over non-conference and interstate foe Mitchell College on Saturday afternoon. Junior Kelvin Cortez (Meriden, Conn.) scored the lone goal for the Falcons behind a penalty kick at the 90th minute.  

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Albertus Magnus 1 | Mitchell 0
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (1-0) | Mitchell (0-2)
BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

Albertus took control of the game early, outshooting the Mariners in the first half, 6-2, as well as dominated in corner kicks, surpassing the red and black with a 6-2 advantage. 

With Albertus a step ahead, the Mariners had no choice but to get physical as the hosts got called for a yellow card before the first half ended. The Falcons took three shots in the final 14 minutes of play, while the Mariners tallied two shots, but neither team was able to cement their advantage and headed into halftime tied at zero. 

Over the first 13 minutes of the second half, both teams remained physical and recorded a combined nine fouls. Shortly after, Mitchell threatened the Falcons at the 58th minute as Dylan Lucey fired a rocket into the net, but Falcons' keeper Garfield Robinson (West Haven, Conn.) intercepted the ball and preserved the 0-0 tie. 

Albertus retaliated in short order with a pair of their own shots, but neither was able to slip past Mariner's goaltender Joey Rosa. With the clock ticking down and emotions running high, the Mariners were whistled for a slew of penalties, while also managing to record their second yellow card of the day. 

With the clock down to its final 10 minutes, the Falcon's offense exploded. Albertus managed four shots on goal as well as a corner kick that set up the momentum needed for the Falcons to close out the game. Following a foul in the box, Cortez didn't disappoint on the penalty attempt, lacing a missile into the back corner of the net for the score and giving Albertus the 1-0 victory. 

Robinson did his part in the contest, playing all 90 minutes in the net and going 1-for-1 in saves, keeping the game in reach for the Falcons.    

BETWEEN THE PIPES

• Albertus: Garfield Robinson (1-0-0) - 1 Shot on Goal | 0 Goals-Against | 1 Save
• Mitchell: Joey Rosa (0-1) - 4 Shots on Goal | 1 Goal-Against | 3 Saves

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Albertus outshot the Mariners, 13-5.
• The Falcons also held the advantage in corner kicks, 8-0.
• Mitchell's Nick Forst paced the hosts' offense with two shot attempts.
• Cortez finished the afternoon with a team-high five shot attempts, with two of them on goal. 
• Carlos Lopez (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Abdul Aremu (West Haven, Conn.) also tallied shots for the Falcons. 

NOTEWORTHY

• The win is Head Coach Pete Hamasian's first in his young coaching career. 
• The Falcons are 10-2-2 against the Mariners all-time. 
• The Falcons last played Mitchell on September 19th, 2017, and lost 2-1 in double overtime. 
• This is the Falcon's sixth shutout all-time against the Mariners. 
• Robinson picked up his fourth career shutout. 

UP NEXT
The Falcons travel to Sage College on Tuesday, September 7th for a non-conference match-up under the lights. Kick-off is set for 6 PM!