Box Score DANVILLE, Ky. – Freshman Jack Shannon scored as time expired to lift Centre men's lacrosse past Piedmont, 5-4, in Saturday's season opener at Farris Stadium.
The Palisades, N.Y., native took a feed from fellow rookie Anthony DiMichele (Cincinnati) and found the back of the net just before the clock read zeroes, completing the Colonels' (1-0) come-from-behind victory against the visiting Lions (0-1).
Centre found itself down 4-3 with just 90 seconds on the clock before sophomore Dominic Nayan (Memphis, Tenn.) leveled the game with his eighth career score.
After Piedmont controlled the ensuing face-off, senior defender Ross McClellan (Louisville, Ky.) forced a crucial turnover to regain possession for the Colonels.
In the waning moments, Centre missed three shots before Shannon's miraculous game-winner.
The freshman attacker opened the scoring Friday with a goal less than three minutes into the game.
Piedmont's Jeremy Kohn answered for the Lions later in the first quarter, making it 1-1, and neither side managed a goal in the second as they went into the half tied at 1-1.
Freshman Chase Poplin (Greenville, S.C.) netted an unassisted goal in the third to briefly give the Colonels a 2-1 lead, but Piedmont responded with two goals in a row – the second a man-up score – to take a 3-2 advantage.
Centre capitalized soon after on its own man-up opportunity, as senior Dominic Peluso (Redondo Beach, Calif.) put home an assist from junior Leland Gray (Louisville, Ky.), tying the game at 3-3 heading to the fourth.
The visiting Lions scored early in the quarter, and held Centre off the board until Nayan's stellar game-tying goal, which set up Shannon's eventual highlight-worthy buzzer-beater.
Centre out-shot Piedmont 33 to 16, and came up with 23 ground balls to the Lions' 14. Freshman Henry Snow (San Antonio) paced the Colonels with four ground balls.
Colonel goalie Sam Long (Cincinnati) tallied five saves, while McClellan led the defenders with three caused turnovers.
Centre hits the road for four consecutive games before returning to Farris, beginning next Wednesday, Feb. 14, at Huntingdon for a 2 p.m. ET start.
