NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College men's soccer team scored a season-high five goals en route to a 5-1 victoy over conference-rival Anna Maria College on Saturday afternoon at Celentano Field on Homecoming.
Yahya Kardad (Wallingford, Conn.) led the Falcons' offense with a hat trick and a season-high seven shots. EJ Gonzalez (Cheshire, Conn.) and Kolly Dasilva (Stratford, Conn.) also tallied goals for Albertus.
David Lucero (East Haven, Conn.) started in goal for the Falcons and recorded two saves on three attempts to secure his seventh victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 5 | Anna Maria 1
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (8-3-4, 6-2-3 GNAC) | Anna Maria (1-9-2, 1-6-2 GNAC)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons took control of the game early, racing to a 4-1 lead in shots over the first 25 minutes.
• An AMC corner kick from Liam O'Brien (Guilford, Conn.) in the 28th minute set up a shot for Kelvin Cortez (Meriden, Conn.) that was deflected right to Gonzalez, who fired it past AMCATS' keeper Valter Santiago for the first score of the match.
• The Falcons retained possession for the remainder of the half, firing off five shots and a corner kick, but could not widen the lead.
• The teams transitioned into halftime, with the Falcons holding the 1-0 advantage.
• Out of the break, Albertus went on the offensive. A corner kick and a high shot from Kardad gave way to another Kardad shot five minutes later, who didn't miss the second time, firing a pass from Anthony Barreira (Trumbull, Conn.) into the mesh to double the Falcons' lead to 2-0.
• Five minutes later, Kardad struck again, this time taking a pass from Johan Stagnaro (East Hartford, Conn.) and rifling it into the back corner of the net to make it a 3-0 Albertus advantage.
• Kardad continued his unstoppable rampage, as the freshman scored 30 seconds later on an assist from Denis Blandon (Meriden, Conn.) to net the hat trick and push the Falcon's lead to 4-0.
• Albertus continued to fire off shots until the 80th minute, when Aiden Coelho (Waterbury, Conn.) took control of the ball and sped up the field, finding Dasilva waiting near the pipes. The freshman fired a perfect pass to DaSilva, who promptly sent a missile into the net to widen the Falcons' advantage to 5-0 with 10 minutes left in regulation.
• The AMCATS' eventually scored on a penalty kick in the 85th minute but could not shrink the overwhelming deficit, and the Falcons walked away with a 5-1 conference victory.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus - David Lucero (W, 7-3-2): 3 Shots on Goal | 1 Goal-Against | 2 Saves
Anna Maria - Valter Santiago (L, 0-6-1): 11 Shots on Goal | 4 Goals-Against | 7 Saves | 68:49
Colin Manuilow - 2 Shots on Goal | 1 Goal Against | 1 Save | 21:11
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Albertus out-shot Anna Maria by a 25-4 margin.
• The Falcons tallied 10 corner kicks to the AMCATS' two.
• Anna Maria made eight saves to Albertus' two.
• The blue-and-white were whistled for eight fouls, while Anna Maria was called for seven.
NOTEWORTHY
• The Falcons' five-goal performance was their highest offensive output since their 6-0 victory over Regis (Mass.) last season.
• Kardad recorded his first career hat trick.
• Kardad now has two game-winning goals on the season.
• Gonzalez scored his second goal of the year.
• DaSilva scored his first career goal in tonight's contest.
• Blandon picked up his first assist and first point of the season.
• Coelho tallied his first assist for the season.
UP NEXT
The Falcons return to the pitch on Wednesday, Oct. 19, to take on the Spartans of Castleton University in non-conference action. Kick-off is set for 7 PM inside the Dave Wolk Stadium in Castleton, Vt.
