NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Julius McNeill (East Hartford, Conn.) scored his first two goals of the season as the Albertus Magnus College men's soccer team closed out its 2024 regular season with a 2-0 win over Dean in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match on Tuesday afternoon.

With the win, the Falcons clinched the second seed in the upcoming GNAC tournament. The Falcons will host the winner of the play-in game between No. 7 Rivier and No. 10 Lasell on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.

The Falcons finished tied with the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) and Johnson and Wales University with a 10-1-3 GNAC record, with USJ earning the top seed via tiebreaking scenarios.

David Lucero (East Haven, Conn.) stopped six shots on the day, including a penalty shot, earning his fifth shutout of the season and 16th of his career.

 The 10 GNAC wins for the Falcons are tied for the most all-time in program history with the 2011 team. It is also the 16th time in program history the men's soccer program has won at least ten games.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus Magnus 2 | Dean 0

RECORDS: Albertus (10-4-4, 10-1-3 GNAC) | Dean (3-13-3, 2-11-1 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons got on the board in the 11th minute as Gabriel Paglia (Amity, Conn.) slid a pass across the penalty area to McNeill, who was a step ahead of his defender and put home his second goal of the season to make it a 1-0 game.
• Albertus dominated possession throughout the first half, with 17 shots, nine of which were on target.
• In the 87th minute, McNeill scored his second taking a cross from Aiden Coelho (Naugatuck, Conn.) and tapped in the goal into an open net to seal the win.

BETWEEN THE PIPES

Albertus

David Lucero (W, 8-3-4) 6 Shots on Goal | 6 Saves | 0 Goals Allowed

Dean

Jake Godwin (L, 3-12) 13 Shots on Goal | 11 Saves | 2 Goals Allowed

BY THE NUMBERS

SHOTS: Albertus 31 | Dean 11

SAVES: Dean 11 | Albertus 6

CORNER KICKS: Dean 7 | Albertus 1

FOULS: Dean 3 | Albertus 1

NOTEWORTHY

The Falcons are now 4-0-1 all-time against Dean.