NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College men's soccer team lost a hard-fought battle to Johnson & Wales (R.I.) University by a final score of 2-1 on Wednesday night in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play under the lights of Celentano Field.

Yahya Kardad (Wallingford, Conn.) scored the lone goal for the Falcons on an assist from Ben Pierce (Meriden, Conn.). David Lucero (East Haven, Conn.) made three saves for AMC in a complete-game effort.

THE BASICS
FINAL: Johnson & Wales 2 | Albertus Magnus 1
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (5-2-3, 3-1-2 GNAC) | Johnson & Wales (7-1-2, 4-0-1 GNAC)
BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Wildcats raced out to an early lead, scoring two goals in the first eight minutes of play to take the 2-0 advantage.
• The Falcons rallied after that, as Johan Stagnaro (East Hartford, Conn.) and Pierce each ripped off a shot, but both were saved by Wildcats' defenders.
• Neither team could gain much momentum after the first 10 minutes of play, as they transitioned into the halftime break, with JWU still holding a 2-0 advantage.
• Albertus came out hot to start the second half, firing off four shots and two corner kicks in the first 15 minutes but could not capitalize on the opportunities.
• The Falcons rallied in the final 10 minutes, as a corner kick from Kelvin Cortez (Meriden, Conn.) gave way to a header from Kardad that the JWU keeper blocked.
• Down to the final two minutes, Albertus finally broke through, as Elijah French (Tallahassee, Fla.) headed a shot that Wildcats' keeper Jacob Friedman was just able to save. Less than 10 seconds later, Pierce found Kardad waiting by the net and sent him the perfect pass. The freshman forward wasted no time, firing it through the goalposts for the Falcons' first score of the night.
• However, the Albertus comeback attempt was short-lived, as the clock expired before the blue-and-white could tie the score, giving the Wildcats a 2-1 victory.

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus - David Lucero (L, 6-2-1): 5 Shots on Goal | 2 Goals-Against | 3 Saves
Johnson & Wales - Jacob Friedman (W, 7-1-2): 4 Shots on Goal | 1 Goal-Against | 3 Saves

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Both teams fired off 11 shots in the match.
• The Falcons out-cornered the Wildcats by a 5-3 margin.
• Albertus was called for 10 fouls, while JWU was called for seven.

NOTEWORTHY
• The Falcons are now 11-18-3 all-time against JWU.
• Pierce has recorded back-to-back multi-shot matches.
• Lucero has made multiple saves in 10 straight contests.
• Kardad is up to three goals in his freshman campaign.
• Kardad's three shots tonight give him six multi-shot matches for the season.

UP NEXT
The Falcons will next remain in New Haven for a home bout versus the Chargers of Colby-Sawyer College on Saturday, Oct. 1. The kick-off is set for 12 p.m. at Celentano Field. Before the match, the Albertus Magnus College men's soccer team will celebrate its Senior Day.