Polkowski Makes 24 Saves, Men’s Lacrosse Falls at Albertus Magnus, 9-6

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The MCLA Lacrosse team returned to the field this evening when they traveled to Celentano Field and Albertus Magnus College for a non-conference matchup with the Falcons. Looking to build some momentum following their first win of the season last time out at Hilbert College, the Trailblazers held a lead early in the second quarter but couldn't hold on, falling to the Falcons 9-6.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Wednesday, March 26, 2025
• Score: MCLA 6, AMC 9
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 1-5 (NAC 0-0) | Albertus Magnus College 4-3 (GNAC 1-1)
• Series History: Albertus Magnus leads the all-time series 3-0, including a 7-6 win when the teams last met on March 2, 2022, in North Adams. The Falcons won the teams' first-ever meeting 22-8 in New Haven on March 3, 2020.

HOW IT WENT DOWN

• The teams played to a stalemate through the first quarter with a pair of MCLA goals sandwiched between a pair of scores for Albertus. Anthony Brikes (8:05 remaining, unassisted) scored the first goal for the hosts, then MCLA's Anthony Andolina (Ballston Spa, NY) (6:04, unassisted) and Josh Hemstock (Amity, CT) (2:14, assisted by Schuler). Hemstock's goal was assisted by Hayden Schuler (North Towanda, NY) and was his first of the season. With just under a minute left in the quarter, Cooper Strecker (0:51, DaKari Coleman) tied the game back at two all.
• Sophomore Neal Brierley (North Adams, MA) (12:53, unassisted) returned the Trailblazers to the lead position with his first goal of the day, only to have the Falcons respond back with a goal from Sean Keenan (9:32, unassisted). Barely half a minute later MCLA jumped back in front when Andolina (8:59, unassisted) found the back of the cage for ninth goal of the season.
• Albertus answered back however with two more goals before half time from Cooper Strecker (6:38, Anthony Brikes) and Brikes (6:10, unassisted) to go into the intermission leading 5-4.
• A single third quarter goal was scored by Brikes (1:06, unassisted) for the host Falcons, despite Albertus holding 16-2 lead in shots during the quarter.
• Strecker (11:55, unassisted) scored the fourth straight goal for the Falcons before the Brierley (11:34, unassisted) finally responded for the Trailblazers. Strecker (9:40, unassisted) added his fourth goal of the day and Zayre Bradley (5:16, unassisted) and capped the scoring for Albertus.
• Brierley (2:29, unassisted) notched his first career hat trick with a final goal with about two and a half minutes to play. The goal was Brierley's team-leading tenth of the year.
• The Falcons' Nick Duryea picked up the win to move his record to 4-3 behind eight saves, while Quentan Polkowski (Marcellus, NY) recorded 24 stops but still fell to 0-3.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Shots (on Goal): MCLA 20 (14), AMC 65 (33)
• Saves: MCLA 24, AMC 8
• Faceoffs Won: MCLA 5, AMC 14
• Turnovers: MCLA 40, AMC 28
• Ground Balls: MCLA 24, AMC 48
• Clears: MCLA 11 for 17, AMC 10 for 10
• Man Up Opportunities: MCLA 0 for 3, AMC 0 for 6

UP NEXT:

On next Saturday April 5^th, MCLA will be back in action when it travels to Smith Field and Thomas College for a North Atlantic Conference matchup with the Terriers. Face-off is scheduled for noon.

STAY CONNECTED:

For the latest on MCLA Athletics, follow the Trailblazers via our social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram, or X (formerly Twitter).