BRIGHTON, Mich.-- The Trine men's lacrosse team dropped its season-opener to Centre, 14-7 Thursday afternoon at The Legacy Center.
The Colonels outscored the Thunder 9-3 in the second half, including four and five-goal runs. Seth Gray scored three goals and dished out five assists to pace Centre's attack. Nick Maher (DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt) and Chris Ward (Oak Lawn, Ill./St. Rita) each tallied two goals to pace the Thunder. Maher added a team-high six ground balls. Samuel Long made 14 saves for the Colonels. Trine opens the season 0-1. Centre is now 2-0 on the year.
Connor Putman (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) scored his first collegiate goal to help pace the offensive effort for the Thunder. Jordan Backer (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) and Jake Ahearn (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) each added goals.
Joe Lencewicz scored three times for the Colonels. Matt Hughes added two goals and two assists. Center won 13-of-23 face-offs, including 12-of-16 through the first three quarters.
After falling behind 2-0 early, goals by Ahearn and Putman knotted the score by the end of the first quarter. Putman's first-career goal tied things up in the closing minutes of the period.
Maher's first goal opened the second quarter scoring to give the Thunder a three-point run. Ward added his his first tally off a hard shot from the wing that found the top corner later in the quarter. The Colonels took a 5-4 lead into the break behind three second quarter tallies.
Maher's second goal knotted things up in the early-going of the third quarter, but the rest of the quarter belonged to Centre as the Colonels scored the next four goals. Gray assisted on all four tallies, two of which came on the man-advantage.
Ward added a goal on the man-advantage to open the fourth, but five-straight from the Colonels put the game out of reach.
Trine returns to action Tuesday, Mar. 8 in a neutral-site contest against Kean. The two teams will square off at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.