NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College men's soccer team tallied its third shutout of the season Saturday afternoon, defeating Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe Rivier University by a final score of 2-0.
Kelvin Cortez (Meriden, Conn.) and Liam O'Brien (Guilford, Conn.) both scored for the Falcons, while David Lucero (East Haven, Conn.) went a perfect 7-for-7 in save opportunities to earn his fourth victory of the year. Cortez also tallied an assist in the contest.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 2 | Rivier 0
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (4-1-2, 2-0-1 GNAC) | Rivier (2-2-1, 0-2-0 GNAC)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons came out on fire in the first half, pelting Raiders' goaltender Dominic Cunha with a barrage of shots, but were unable to score.
• Cortez got the Falcons on the board in the 24th minute, sneaking one past the Raiders' keeper for the first goal of the game to give the Falcons an early 1-0 advantage.
• Albertus continued to pressure Rivier's defense, firing three more shots and a corner kick over the next seven minutes.
• Neither team could gain the advantage in the final 15 minutes of the first half, and the period ended with the blue-and-white holding the 1-0 lead.
• Cortez struck again in the 64th minute to extend AMC's advantage to 2-0, feeding O'Brien a perfect pass that the junior defender fired into the back corner of the net.
• The Falcons ripped off an additional five corner kicks over the final 25 minutes of play.
• Albertus maintained possession of the soccer ball for the remainder of the match to seal a convincing 2-0 conference victory.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus - David Lucero (W, 4-1-1): 7 Shots on Goal | 0 Goals-Against | 7 Saves
Rivier - Dominic Cunha (L, 2-3-1): 9 Shots on Goal | 2 Goals-Against | 7 Saves
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• The Falcons outshot the Raiders by a 19-11 margin.
• AMC tallied a whopping 15 corner kicks to Rivier's two.
• The Raiders were whistled for 15 fouls, while the Falcons were called for 10.
• Both goalies made seven saves in the contest.
NOTEWORTHY
• The Falcons are 22-5-3 all-time against the Raiders.
• O'Brien scored his third goal of the season.
• Cortez has now tallied a goal in his last three contests.
• O'Brien took a season-high five shots.
• Lucero recorded his third shutout of the year and tied his season-high with seven saves.
UP NEXT
The Falcons continue their GNAC slate with a road bout against the Blue Jays of the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The opening kick-off is set for 4 p.m. at the USJ Athletic Complex in Hartford, Conn.
