NEW HAVEN, Conn. -  The Albertus Magnus men's soccer team got their first win of the season by defeating Castleton 1-0 in their second non-conference matchup. 

THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 1 | Castleton 0
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (1-0-1) | Castleton (0-2-0)  

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Falcons took control of the game early on, outshooting the Spartans 3-1 in the first ten minutes and followed up in the next ten minutes with five more shots on goal before Kelvin Cortez (Meriden, Conn.) received the ball from a throw-in on the right side, spun a defender and drove in towards the net. After defeating another defender inside the 18, Cortez drove the ball straight past Castleton goalkeeper, Andres Soto-Burgos into the lower right hand side of the net for the first and only goal of the game at the 26th minute. 

After the goal, the Falcons continued to show their dominance by out-shooting and out-cornering the Spartans for the rest of the half.

Throughout the second half the sides seemed to be on equal footing as both Castleton's defense and offense stepped up with the Falcons only out-shooting the Spartans 6-5.

In the final two minutes of the game, Castleton attempted a last ditch effort to tie the game, but Falcons' goalkeeper David Lucero (East Haven, Conn.)  made back-to-back saves to run down the final seconds of the clock leading to the Falcons' first win of the 2023 season.

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus -   David Lucero (W, 1-0-0): 5 Shots on Goal |  0 Goals-Against |  5 Saves
Castleton - Andres Soto-Burgos (L, 0-2-0): 10 Shots on Goal | 1 Goal-Against | 9 Saves

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Falcons held a 17-9 advantage in shots. 

• Albertus out-cornered Castleton,  7-5. 

• The Spartans picked up nine saves to the Falcons five.

• Albertus was whistled for 13 fouls, while Castleton was called for 10.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Cortez scored the first goal of the Falcons men's soccer season.

• Albertus was given three yellow cards: Roger Baldwin (New Haven, Conn.), Cortez and Johan Stagnaro (East Hartford, Conn.).

• Lucero had his first start of the season in goal for Albertus. The Falcons have not allowed a goal this season.

UP NEXT
The Falcons men's soccer team returns to action on Wednesday, September 6 at home for their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup of the season against New England College. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. at Celentano Field.