PAXTON, Mass. — Jeremy Tremblay (Orford, Québec) and Anthony Brikes (Staten Island, N.Y. ) recorded four points each as the Albertus Magnus College men's lacrosse team found themselves back in the win column after a close 9-7 victory over Anna Maria College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play on Tuesday.

Tremblay connected for three of his four goals in the first quarter to give the visitors the early edge as the Falcons never lost the lead following the opening period. Brikes tallied a goal and three assists, while Cooper Strecker (Chester, Conn.) secured a pair of goals and an assist. DaKari Coleman (Norwalk, Conn.) and Derrick Mejia (Bridgeport, Conn.) both posted a goal for the Falcons.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus Magnus 9 | Anna Maria 7

RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (5-8, 2-5 GNAC)  | Anna Maria (4-8, 0-7 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Tremblay netted the first goal for the Falcons nearly five minutes into the opening period as the visitors took an early 1-0 edge. Brikes attempted a shot on goal, but AMCATS' goalkeeper Caden Rakes was there to make the save, however, Mejia recovered the ground ball to keep the possession with Albertus. Mejia cradled the ball for a few seconds before the wide open pass to Tremblay as the sophomore charged towards the net and split defenders on the way for a dart through traffic.
• Twenty three seconds later, Eric Farrell tallied the equalizer for Anna Maria off the faceoff following the Albertus' goal.
• In the final five minutes of the first quarter, Tremblay connected for consecutive tallies to give Albertus the two-goal lead. Tremblay dominated defensively to cause an AMCATS turnover in the midfield before he scooped the ground ball and sprinted to the attack area for the long-range goal from 20 yards out. The second goal started with Strecker, who launched the ball from behind the net straight into Tremblay's pocket for the no-hesitation goal with 3:52 remaining in the period.
• Albertus controlled the offense in the first quarter as the hosts only attempted four shots on goal as Nick Duryea (East Haven, Conn.) stopped three of the shots.
• Yet again, five minutes into the next quarter Albertus scored, this time from Coleman to make it a 4-1 game. Lassana Dior Fofana (Bronx, N.Y.) grabbed the ground ball off a sloppy AMCATS' pass from behind the cage into the scoring zone and gave the Falcons the possession that led to Coleman's around-the-corner goal.
• Farrell scored again for Anna Maria with 2:18 left before the break to cut Albertus' lead in half at 4-2
• Forty-four seconds into the second half, Mejia lifted the lead back to three off the pass from Brikes. Coleman won the opening faceoff and Hayden Grigas (Milford, Conn.) collected the ground ball before he brought it into the offensive zone. After several back-and-forth passes among the Falcons, Brikes received the ball for the 10-yard pass to Mejia, who instantly spun around for a simultaneous shot into the netting.
• Albertus and the AMCATS traded goals for the remainder of the quarter, but the Falcons continued to hold the 8-4 edge as Strecker, Tremblay and Brikes all scored. Farrell tallied two for the hosts.
• Strecker struck again for Albertus' last goal of the night off another Brikes assist at 10:45 in the fourth quarter.
• Jake Lupo scored three-straight goals for the AMCATs but it wasn't enough to catch up to the Falcons.

BETWEEN THE PIPES

Albertus 

• Nick Duryea (W, 5-8) 23 Shots | 16 Saves | 7 Goals Allowed

Anna Maria

• Caden Rakes (L, 4-8) 19 Shots | 10 Saves | 9 Goals Allowed

TEAM STATS

SHOTS: Anna Maria 41 | Albertus Magnus 31

GROUND BALLS: Anna Maria 36 | Albertus Magnus 22

CLEARS: Anna Maria 23/25 | Albertus Magnus 24/30

MAN-UP: Albertus Magnus 0/0 | Anna Maria 0/4

FACEOFFS: Anna Maria 11 | Albertus Magnus 7

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES

Albertus

• Jeremy Tremblay 4 Goals | 7 Shots | 7 SOG | 2 Ground Balls | 1 Caused Turnover
• Anthony Brikes 1 Goal | 3 Assists | 8 Shots | 5 SOG | 1 Ground Ball
• Cooper Strecker 2 Goals | 1 Assist | 8 Shots | 2 SOG

Anna Maria

• Eric Farrell 4 Goals | 2 Assists | 11 Shots | 7 SOG | 3 Ground Balls
• Jake Lupo 3 Goals | 4 Shots | 4 SOG | 2 Caused Turnovers

NOTEWORTHY

• Brikes has scored a goal in his last seven games.
• Mejia has scored in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
• Strecker has recorded a point in his last three games.
• Duryea is first in the conference with 214 saves and third in save percentage with 54.3.
• Albertus is second in the league in caused turnovers with 174 — four shy of New England College. Jahsai Martin-Fish (Stamford, Conn.) sits third with 35, Grigas is eighth with 23, Strecker has 20 for the 10th spot and Fofana is tied for 11th with 19.

UP NEXT

The Falcons host their final home game of the season on Friday against Saint Joseph's (Me.) at 4 p.m.