NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - Zaheim Wilkins (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) netted a goal 2:46 into overtime to lead the Albertus Magnus College men's lacrosse team to a season-opening 7-6 victory over MCLA on Wednesday afternoon in North Adams, Mass.

THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 7 | MCLA 6 (OT)
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (1-0) | MCLA (0-2)
BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams scored a goal in the opening period, with Andrew Ten (Trumbull, Conn.) netting AMC's first goal of the season at the 4:59 mark, the first goal of his rookie campaign. Charles Stewart (Stratford, Conn.) earned the first of his two assists on the season-opening goal.

After the Trailblazers scored the first goal of the second, the Falcons answered with back-to-back tallies to take a 3-2 lead. Derek Ralston (Guilford, Conn.) scored first on a man-up opportunity, leading to Cody Walczak (Higganun, Conn.) finding the back of the net next with 10:30 left in the half.

An MCLA goal before the end of the half sent the game into the third tied at 3-3. The Falcons owned a 15-13 advantage in shots through 30 minutes.

A pair of Falcons' goals bookended two Trailblazer scores to send the game tied at five heading to the fourth. Ten scored the first goal of the frame and Shane Kelly (Madison, Conn.) tallied the second, the first of his career.

For the fourth consecutive quarter, the Falcons and Trailblazers finished the frame tied, with both teams scoring one goal in the fourth. Andrew Luzzi (East Haven, Conn.) forced OT with a goal at the 4:12 mark off a helper from Stewart.

Wilkins decided the game with 1:14 remaining in overtime on an unassisted tally.

Between the pipes, Dane Walsh (Bethany, Conn.) made 12 saves to earn his first win as a senior.

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus - Dane Walsh (W, 1-0): 6 Goals-Against | 12 Saves | 18 Shots on Goal
MCLA - Brady Larkin (L, 0-2): 7 Goals-Against | 15 Saves | 22 Shots on Goal

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Falcons finished with a 40-30 advantage in shots.
• AMC won 7-of-16 face-offs, with Luzzi winning all seven.
• MCLA committed 32 turnovers to Albertus' 24.
• Albertus led the Trailblazers in ground balls, 37-30.
• Ten, Stewart, and Wilkins finished tied with a team-high four shots on goal.

Albertus:
Andrew Ten: 2 goals | 2 assists | 4 shots on goal
Andrew Luzzi: 1 goal | 1 assist | 7 ground balls | 7 face-off wins
Charles Stewart: 2 assists | 2 ground balls | 1 caused turnover | 4 shots on goal

MCLA:
Johnny Hebert: 2 goals | 1 assist | 3 ground balls
Tom Irwin: 2 goals | 5 ground balls | 4 shots on goal

NOTEWORTHY

• Today's game is the second-ever meeting between the Falcons and Trailblazers.
• With the win, Albertus improved to 2-0 all-time versus MCLA.
• The Falcons picked up their first OT win since the 2019 season.
• Ten and Kelly both scored their first collegiate goals.
• Luzzi netted his second career goal.
• Walsh starts his senior season with a 1-0 record.

UP NEXT
The Falcons remain on the road to play Cairn University on Saturday, March 5, at 6 p.m. at Mercer County Community College in Mercer County, N.J.