NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Centre 17, Piedmont 8
Records: Piedmont, 1-1; Centre, 1-1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - After a thrilling one-goal win in their season opener against a SAA foe, the Piedmont University men's lacrosse team fell in their second contest against a non-conference foe with another SAA member notching the victory over the Green and Gold as Centre knocked off the Lions 17-8. 

The game came earlier Saturday afternoon and was the opener for both teams at the Music City Classic, a neutral site tournament held in Nashville, Tennessee.  

Piedmont managed to stay tight with the Colonels in the 1st quarter despite seeing Centre win the face off all six times in the opening period.  The Lions' first goal came in a man-up opportunity with Ian Parr notching the score off an assist from Jacob Hasbrouck.

Just over a minute later, Piedmont forced a Centre turnover and was able to clear following the ground ball pickup from Eric Fewell leading to a Miller Buice shot that forced the Colonels' netminder to make a key save.  

The Lions would have another man-up opportunity in the 1st but were unable to capitalize which allowed Centre to keep Piedmont at bay while finding its footing. 

Trading turnovers and shots over the remainder of the quarter, the two squads stayed with each other throughout as Will Isley tallied his first goal of the evening, but it was sandwiched by a pair of Centre goals less than 30 seconds apart. 

A late Centre goal from Graysen Jolly with only 21 seconds left in the quarter made it 3-2 and gave the opposition the momentum into the break. Jolly led all scorers on the evening with his four-goal performance that also saw an assist added to his totals. 

The second quarter belonged to Centre with the Lions being outscored 9-1 in the period as Jacob Hasbrouck scored the lone goal for PU in the stretch that saw the Colonels take control of the game. 

Follwing the half time break, Piedmont out-scored Centre 3-2  in the 3rd quarter with Isley scoring twice to earn his hat-trick for the evening and Piedmont's Nick Winter accounting for the third goal of the period which came man-up.  

Trailing 14-6 headed into the 4th, Piedmont collected another pair of goals with Joseph Whitmore and Zach Avila getting on the score sheet, but Centre outscored the Lions in the 4th to keep the lead secure before the final whistle came with the Colonels claiming a 17-8 win.  

Up next, the Lions will conclude the Music City Classic taking on Hendrix Sunday at 4 p.m.

TURNING POINT:
- The second quarter which saw the Colonels out-score Piedmont by a 9-1 margin to surge ahead and earn the victory over the Lions.  

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- Will Isley scored two of Piedmont's first four goals with his first tying the contest at two goals each with under two minutes to play in the 1st quarter. 
- Ian Parr tallied Piedmont's first goal of the evening that gave the Lions the lead just over two minutes into the game. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Centre scored goals with under 27 seconds remaining in both the 1st and 2nd quarters, once to grab momentum and again just before the half to seal the 2nd quarter run. 
- The Colonels won all six face off opportunities in the 1st quarter and held a heavy advantage the rest of the night with 16 of the first 20 going Centre's way.  

HOW TO FOLLOW:
- To stay up to date on all information regarding Piedmont University Athletics, be sure to visit PiedmontLions.com and connect with the Green and Gold on social media. Follow the Lions on X: @PiedmontLions, Instagram: @PiedmontLions, and Facebook.