Albertus Magnus Slips Past Men's Lacrosse

NEW LONDON, Conn. – After trailing for the majority of the contest, Albertus Magnus College hung on for a 10-9 victory over Mitchell College on Wednesday night in a non-conference men's lacrosse showdown at New London High School.

The Falcons (1-7 overall) took the lead for good with 7:17 remaining en route to their first win of the season. Mike Choiniere and Dalton Sargent scored three goals apiece to lead the way while Austin Kozak and Justin Bennet each added a pair. Dan DiGioia paced the Mariners (3-4 overall) with four goals on the night.

Neither team led by more than two goals in the contest, though Mitchell enjoyed a two-goal cushion at five different points in the game. Each time the Falcons responded with the next goal to halve the deficit.

Albertus Magnus scored first in the opening minutes as Kozak found Choiniere for his first tally of the night. Evan Gennell tied the game for the Mariners just over three minutes later, and DiGioia added back-to-back scores to put Mitchell on top 3-1. Kozak chipped in with his first goal with 2:25 remaining in the quarter to keep the Falcons within striking distance.

The two teams traded scores in the second quarter as Mitchell went into the half with a 6-4 advantage. The Mariners scored twice with a man advantage in the stanza off the sticks of Gennell and Tyler Kradas.

Sargent scored a pair of goals in the third quarter as Albertus Magnus kept it close. The Falcons tied the match at 7-7 on a goal by Choiniere with 4:30 to play in the period, but DiGioia scored with 1:07 remaining to give Mitchell the one-goal advantage.

Albertus Magnus outscored Mitchell 3-1 over the final 15 minutes. Sargent tied the game at 8-8 off a feed from Choiniere, and Bennet later gave the Falcons their first lead since 1-0 with a score at the 7:17 mark. Kozak's final goal padded the lead to two—AMC's largest of the night—before DiGioia potted his fourth goal on an unassisted effort with 2:03 to go.

The Falcons won the ensuing face-off to gain possession, but Mitchell forced a quick turnover and called timeout to plan for the potential tying goal. However, the Mariners turned the ball back over, and Kozak scooped up a crucial ground ball which led to Albertus Magnus running out the final 38 seconds of the game.

Greg Shawinsky played a big role for the Falcons by winning 18 of 21 face-offs and also added six ground balls. Adam Earl recorded a game-high 10 ground balls for Albertus Magnus which held a 32-27 edge in the category.

AMC goalie Jack Kerner made six saves to earn his first career victory. Jordan Cook made his first career start in net for the Mariners and finished with eight stops. 

Mitchell will next host Becker College on Saturday, April 4 at 1 p.m. Albertus Magnus returns to action at home against Mount Ida College on Saturday at noon.