NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College men's soccer team won their opening Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game of the year and second overall behind a 1-0 victory over the Bulldogs of Dean College. Carlos Lopez (Bridgeport, Conn.) scored the game-winning goal in the 27th-minute.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Albertus 1 | Dean 0
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (2-1, 1-0 GNAC) | Dean (2-2, 1-1 GNAC)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lopez put the Falcons' in the driver's seat with his goal. The tally was sparked by a hustle play from freshman Fillipe Mouroa (Milford, Conn.), as he earned a free-kick after getting fouled while stealing the ball from the visitors. Mouroa sent the free-kick into the box, where Lopez gathered and fired the ball into the bottom-left corner.
The Falcon defense kept the Bulldogs in check through the opening half, allowing only a single shot and surpassing the visitors in corner kicks by a 2-0 margin. On the other hand, Albertus finished the first 45 minutes with nine shots. Freshman midfielder Luis Agudelo (East Haven, Conn.) joined Lopez as the only two Falcons in the first half to record a shot on goal.
The Bulldogs' offense began to come alive in the second half, with three of their four shots coming in the final 45 minutes. The Falcons remained unfazed, however, as they continued to pressure and tallied a whopping 20 attempts. Abdoul Aremu (West Haven, Conn.) paced the blue-and-white with five shots, two of which were on goal.
A slew of fouls on Dean College halfway through the second half allowed the hosts to maintain possession of the ball and control the game. The visitors amassed six fouls and two yellow cards in the second half alone, giving the Falcons the edge they needed to maintain the gap. With the clock ticking down to its final minutes, the Falcons pressed their advantage, posting six shots in the final 15 minutes to keep the Bulldogs from mounting any comeback.
In cage for Albertus, Garfield Robinson (West Haven, Conn.) kept the visitors off the board for the entire match, converting both of his save opportunities during the contest to earn his second shutout of the year.
The win marked the Falcon's second victory and their first against a GNAC foe under Head Coach Pete Hamasain. The win is also Hamasain's first on his home turf of Celentano Field.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus: Garfield Robinson (2-1): 2 Shots on Goal | 0 Goals-Against | 2 Saves
Dean: Bryce Antoch (2-2): 7 Shots on Goal | 1 Goal-Against | 6 Saves
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Seven different Falcons recorded a multi-shot game.
• Lopez scored the second goal of his career in the contest.
• Robinson tallied his fifth career shutout.
• The Falcons outshot the Bulldogs by a 20-4 margin.
• Albertus posted seven shots on goal compared to the Dean's two.
• Dean held the edge in saves by a 6-2 margin.
NOTEWORTHY
• With tonight's victory, the Falcons improve to 2-0 all-time against the Bulldogs, with their last victory coming on Sept. 15, 2019, in a 4-0 affair.
• This is the second shutout for the Falcons this season.
• The win is Coach Pete Hamasian's first conference and home win as head coach of the Falcons.
UP NEXT
The men's soccer team welcomes the Blazers of Elms College on Wednesday, Sept. 15, for a home conference bout. The kick-off is set for 7:00 PM at Celentano Field.
