CASTLETON, Vt. - The Albertus Magnus College men's soccer team dropped a hard-fought contest to the Spartans of Castleton University in non-conference action on Wednesday evening.
Denis Blandon (Meriden, Conn.) scored the lone goal for the Falcons, while Gabriel Paglia (Amity, Conn.) tallied an assist in the contest.
David Lucero (East Haven, Conn.) started in goal for the Falcons and made four saves in a complete-game effort.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Castleton 2 | Albertus Magnus 1
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (8-4-4) | Castleton (5-8-2)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons raced out to an early offensive advantage over the Spartans in the first, outshooting the Spartans 3-1.
• In the 15th minute, Blandon took a long pass from Paglia and fired it into the far corner of the net, just past the fingertips of Spartans' netminder Andres Soto-Burgos for the first score of the match, giving the Falcons an early 1-0 advantage.
• The teams traded shots and corners for the remainder of the first half, but neither team could put one through the pipes, and the squads transitioned into the halftime break, with the blue-and-white still holding the 1-0 lead.
• Out of the break, the Falcons went on the offensive, as Walter Fontes (Hamden, Conn.) fired back-to-back shots deflected by Soto-Burgos.
• The teams traded shots until the 67th minute, with neither team able to gain the advantage. Then, in the 70th minute, the Spartans struck, as Gonzalaiz Arakaza slipped one by Lucero to knot the score at 1-all.
• The Spartans took the lead four minutes later on another goal from Arakaza, taking a 2-1 lead with 16 minutes remaining in regulation.
• The Falcons fired five shots in the final minutes but could not tie the score, losing a heartbreaker to the Castleton Spartans by a final score of 2-1.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus - David Lucero (L, 7-4-2): 6 Shots on Goal | 2 Goals-Against | 4 Saves
Castleton - Andres Soto-Burgos (W, 4-6-2): 10 Shots on Goal | 1 Goal-Against | 9 Saves
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• The Falcons outshot the Spartans by an 18-11 margin.
• Both teams fired off five corner kicks in the match.
• The Spartans made nine saves to the Falcons' four.
• Castleton was called for 11 fouls, while AMC was called for eight.
NOTEWORTHY
• The Falcons are 1-1 all-time against Castleton following tonight's loss.
• Blandon scored his first goal of the season in tonight's contest.
• Roger Baldwin (New Haven, Conn.) tied a season-high with four shots in the contest.
• Paglia picked up his first career assist during the match.
UP NEXT
The Falcons will close out the regular season on Saturday, Oct. 22, with a road match against the Cadets of Norwich University. Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m. on Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium.
