Hat Trick Lifts Falcons over Anna Maria 7-0

Hat Trick Lifts Falcons over Anna Maria 7-0

Jamal Howard (West Haven, Conn.) recorded his first career hat trick to lift the Albertus Magnus men's soccer team to its 10th-straight victory with a 7-0 win over Anna Maria on Monday afternoon.

Howard finished the contest with seven points as he added an assist on the game-winning goal scored by freshman Lindsley Barrett (Shelton, Conn.) in the third minute of play.

Albertus improves its record to 11-2 overall with the victory as the Falcons are now 8-0 in GNAC play.

Howard, who leads the Falcons with 12 goals on the year and 28 points, scored his first goal in the 17th minute as he connected off a rebound and found the back of the net. Richard Mitchell (Naugatuck, Conn.) took the initial shot on the play as Anna Maria's goalkeeper, Mike Dandurand, made a diving save but could not get control of the ball. Howard was left all alone in front of the net and chipped the ball in for his 10th goal of the season.

Eight minutes later, Howard tallied his second goal of the afternoon as he scored off of a Stephen Zapata (Hamden, Conn.) pass to the far post. The seniors' final goal of the contest came in the 59th minute as he intercepted a defensive clear and drilled the ball past the diving keeper to give the Falcons a 6-0 advantage.

Zapata also finished the match with a multiple-point effort as he scored his third goal of the season, while adding two assists. Zapata put the Falcons ahead 5-0 in the 55th minute as Jess Plona (Trumbull, Conn.) played the ball up the field and found Zapata, who drilled a shot from 25-yards out and scored. The Hamden, Conn. native now has 20 points on the year, including a team-best 14 assists.

Barrett's score in the third minute marked his eighth goal of the year as well as his fourth game winner.

Defender Chris Long (West Haven, Conn.) also got in on the action as he tallied his second goal of the year. Long headed the ball off of a Zapata corner kick to give the Falcons' a 2-0 lead in the sixth minute of play.

Plona scored Albertus' final goal of the afternoon as he went one-on-one with a defender by the near post then beat the keeper for his third goal of the season.

Howard led the Falcons with seven shots, including three on goal, while the Falcons outshot the AMCats 26-4. Albertus also limited Anna Maria to just one shot in the first half.

Albertus' Donato Piroscafo (Naugatuck, Conn.) earned the win as he played 45 minutes and did not see a shot on goal, while Francois Brown (New Haven, Conn.) played the second half for the Falcons, making two stops.

Dandurand played 68:07 for the AMCats in net as he allowed all seven goals, while making six saves. Jeff Bolton finished out the contest and made one stop.

Today's win marked the Falcons' seventh shutout of the year, including their third straight.

Albertus will return to action on Wednesday, Oct. 12 as the Falcons host the United States Coast Guard Academy in a non-conference match-up at Celentano Field. Game time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.