Shreveport – The Centenary lacrosse team fell 23-4 to the Southwestern University Pirates on Sunday afternoon in a Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference (HCLC) contest at Mayo Field.
The Gents (0-4) were playing their first HCLC contest and fourth-consecutive home game. The Pirates improved to 2-1 with Sunday's win. Centenary and Southwestern had met the last two seasons as members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, but both schools joined the HCLC this past summer.
The Gents and Pirates are joined by former SCAC members Colorado College and the University of Dallas and have paired with North Division members Anderson University, Earlham College, Hanover College and Mount St. Joseph University. Centenary, Southwestern, Colorado College, and Dallas make up the South Division.
The game was tied 2-2 after the first quarter but then the Pirates outscored the Gents 8-1 to take a 10-3 lead at halftime. Southwestern added six goals in the third quarter with the Gents scoring one, and then the Pirates added seven more in the final period to secure the victory.
Southwestern finished with a decisive 73-15 advantage in shots and won 24 of 27 face offs. The Pirates recorded 47 ground balls to 22 for the Gents and Centenary turned the ball over 24 times while Southwestern gave it away 14 times.
Centenary freshman GK Alex Nicks-Davis (Nashville, Tenn.) started and made 24 saves and allowed 19 goals. Fellow freshman GK Jason Turner (Bossier City, La.) came in for Nicks-Davis and played the final 12:03, allowing four goals and making four saves.
The Gents scored first as freshman A G'Colby Spivey (Dallas, Texas) found the net at the 8:01 mark of the first quarter for an unassisted goal. Southwestern tied the game just over a minute later and the Gents responded within seconds as junior M/F Kyle Comi (Allen, Texas) scored an unassisted goal for a 2-1 Centenary lead.
Centenary junior A John Mark Waniewski (Bossier City, La.) scored the Gents' final two goals of the game, the first midway through the second quarter off an assist from Spivey, and the final one in the third quarter with the assist credited to Comi. Sophomore D Matthew Lulich (New Orleans, La.) led the Gents with three caused turnovers and added three ground balls. Nicks-Davis had a team-high six ground balls, freshman MF Marc Mackey (Houston, Texas) had three, and Spivey and sophomore midfielder Jordan Cook (Bryant, Ark.) each had two.
Matt Caldwell and Blake Sitterly each scored a game-high six goals, Cade McDonald scored three, and Axel Aymond added two. The Pirates played three goalies as Carter Woods started and played 30 minutes, making five saves and allowing three goals. Jonah Heaton played 25:50 and allowed a goal and made one save. Lee Stone played the final 4:10 and recorded one save.
The Gents will hit the road for the first time this season next weekend as they face Hanover (Feb. 26 at 1 p.m.) and Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Feb. 28 at 5 p.m.). Centenary then faces Dallas on the road on March 9 at 4 p.m.
See the Gents' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mlax/2021-22/schedule
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