Men’s Lacrosse Falls on Road at Conference Foe

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Regis College seemingly controlled the action through the first three quarters, but the Albertus Magnus offense came alive in the fourth quarter as the Falcons defeated the Pride, 9-6, Tuesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's lacrosse match at Celentano Field.

Michael Daras (Danvers, Mass.) led the Pride with three goals and one assist, while Brian Wagner (Melrose, Mass.) finished with one goal, one assist, and eight ground balls. Regis dominated most of the contest, earning a 32-14 advantage in shots on goal, but Falcon goalie John Brunetti kept his team in the match with 25 total saves.

The first goal came nine minutes into the match as James May scored for Albertus Magnus off an assist from Derek Ralston. Two-and-a-half minutes later, Daras picked up his first tally to tie the contest at 1-1, where it would remain heading into the second quarter.

The Pride took the lead on a goal by Zach Leighton (Wilmington, Mass.) off an assist by Jesse Bedon (Wallingford, Conn.), but the Falcons answered seven seconds later with an unassisted goal by Mykel Stinson. The score remained tied until Daras scored with 27 seconds remaining in the quarter to give the Pride a 3-2 halftime advantage.

The Falcons once again tied the match exactly five minutes into the third quarter on a goal by Zachary Librizzi. After an illegal procedure penalty by Albertus Magnus created an extra-man opportunity for Regis, Tucker Cherry (Franklin, Mass.) found the back of the net right at the end of the man-advantage, putting the Pride back on top 4-3 heading into the fourth quarter.

Albertus Magnus (1-2, 1-1 GNAC) scored five of the next six goals, starting with two goals by Christopher Magnifico off assists by May in a 53-second span. Magnifico completed his hat trick with another goal with 6:22 remaining in the quarter, and then Ralston scored twice to give the Falcons an 8-5 advantage.

Just 17 seconds after Ralston's second goal, May scored on an extra-man opportunity to give the Falcons their biggest lead of the night at 9-5. Daras completed his hat trick 35 seconds later as Regis scored its second goal of the night on extra-man opportunities.

Besides Magnifico's three goals, Ralston finished with two goals and three assists, while May contributed two goals and two assists. Ralston also led the Falcons with three caused turnovers, and Stinson collected a team-high nine ground balls during the contest.

The Pride won 13 of 19 faceoffs, led by Brendon Donahue (Lynn, Mass.) with 11 controls in 17 faceoffs. Regis was also 24-for-29 on clear attempts for an 82.8 percent success rate, while the Falcons were successful on only 56.3 percent (18-of-32) of their clear attempts.

Regis (1-2, 0-2 GNAC) hosts Becker College Thursday, March 21, beginning at 4 p.m. at Regis Stadium in a match originally scheduled for Feb. 27.