NEW HAVEN, Conn. (9/21/13) - An 89th minute goal from Lawrence Fagan lifted Lasell College (5-1, 2-0 GNAC) over the Albertus Magnus (1-5, 0-2 GNAC) men's soccer team Saturday afternoon at Celentano Field in New Haven, Connecticut. The Falcons' loss drops them to 0-2 in the conference and 1-5 overall.
The first ten minutes of the game started off very physical as both teams battled for possession. The style of play was very crafty; both teams advancing the ball forward, however none resulting in any chances for a goal.
In the 11th minute, the Lasers cashed in one a beautiful one-two combination in the midfield. The ball was swung out to the right side as senior Cedric Dybaud slid a through ball to the foot of Conor Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald took the ball one time and slotted past the goalkeeper to put the Lasers up 1-0.
The Falcons did not wait to respond with chances of their own. The Falcons tied the game in the 22nd minute after freshman forward Matt Mueller (Cheshire, Conn.) beat the defender down the sideline and delivered a perfect service to the head of Alexis Garcia (West Haven, Conn.) who pounded it to the near post upper corner. It was his team-leading fourth goal for the freshman striker.
The half ended with the score tied 1-1. The Lasers led the Falcons with ten shots to six and both teams had four corner kicks a piece.
The Lasers came out of the second half firing as they had two quick shots on the senior goalkeeper Donato Piroscafo (Naugatuck, Conn.) in which he turned aside. Piroscafo ended the game with eight saves, six of them coming in the second half. The second half did not prove to be as aesthetic as the first, as the half was filled with crunching tackles and little possession was claimed by either team.
Freshman striker Mueller looked to be a part of another scoring opportunity in the 70th minute as he struck a ball from about thirty yards away. The ball beat the diving goalkeeper, however struck off the upright and the opportunity was squandered.
As the minutes were winding down, Lasell's Fitzgerald delivered a switching long ball to the foot of senior Sokol Bako. The midfielder held the ball, waited for defenders to pass, and laid it off to a cutting Lawrence Fagan who pounded the ball into the top netting. The goal was scored with only 1:41 left in the game and was too late for a response from the Falcons.
The Lasers improve their record to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play with the win.
The Falcons look to rebound Wednesday at 4:00 P.M. as they host Mitchell College at Celentano Field.