ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine University men's soccer team struck first, but the University of St. Francis (Ind.) then scored four unanswered goals to hand the Thunder a 4-1 loss in a non-conference matchup at Weaver Field in Angola, Ind.
Senior Nooh Aljabaly (Coldwater, Mich./Coldwater) put Trine (3-2) on the scoreboard late in the opening half at the 35:48 minute mark with an assist by sophomore Connor Malmquist (Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Township) to give the Thunder the early 1-0 lead. St. Francis (4-4) answered less than four minutes later with their first goal during the 40th minute to even the game at 1-1. The Cougars then tacked on another score just before the end of the period to take the lead, 2-1, at the break.
USF continued the scoring in the second half and wasted no time adding to its lead with another goal just a little over two minutes into the final period to extend the margin to 3-1. The final goal of the game came at the 61:05 mark when USF put the game away on its fourth marker of the contest en route to the 4-1 final.
In net for Trine, sophomore Taylor Medina (Mill Creek, Ind./Rochester) played all 90 minutes and finished with one save on the afternoon.
Trine will look to rebound from the loss to the Cougars when it hosts Manchester University on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at Weaver Field. The game is slated to start at 4 p.m.