PIRATES FACE TOUGH SEASON OPENER AT WHITTIER

WHITTIER, Calif. - The Pirate men's lacrosse team opened their inaugural season on Thursday and faced staunch competition in Whittier College, falling 24-4 in the contest.

Whittier came out of the gates strong, drawing off their previous contest, and scored 10 goals in the first quarter and five more in the second to go into halftime up 15-0.

Southwestern (0-1) never backed down, however, scoring just five goals fewer than their opponents in the second half. The Pirates scored their first NCAA goal to open third quarter when Jamie Long found Edward Williams who found the back of the net. SU added one more in the third and two more in the fourth quarter.

SU had 11 shots to the Poet's 52. Southwestern had 35 turnovers and Whittier tallied 23 turnovers.

Williams led with two goals for Southwestern while Long and Grady Sampley scored one each. Long also had an assist as did Thomas Mock and Luther Faulk.

The Pirates remain in action in Whittier as Grand Canyon University faces Southwestern at the neutral site. Game time is set for 8:00 pm CST.