Lexington, Ky. – A hat-trick from senior attacker Brad Clements was not enough for the Transylvania men's lacrosse team as the Pioneers opened the 2018 season with a hard-fought 8-5 loss to the Wittenberg University Tigers at Pat Deacon Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

After falling behind 3-0 early in the second quarter, the Pioneers received a boost from freshman midfielder Kayd Aquino who scored his first two career goals in the span of two minutes, cutting Wittenberg's advantage to 4-2.  

After a two-goal burst from the Tigers, Clements scored a pair of goals in the final three minutes of the half, cutting the Wittenberg lead to 6-4 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Wittenberg's defense held Transylvania scoreless and a Tigers goal at the 5:19 mark extended their lead to 7-4.

With five minutes left in the game, Clements completed the hat-trick with his third goal of the day. However, the Tigers scored again just seconds later pushing the final score to 8-5. 

Defensively, the Pioneers were led by sophomore long-stick midfielder T.J. Toivonen who caused four turnovers and scooped up five ground balls.

Freshman goalkeeper Michael Webb made his first career start in net for the Pioneers and tallied 11 saves on the day. 

After a three-week layoff, the Pioneers will return to action on March 3 as they host the Sewanee University Tigers. The game is a rematch of last season's 11-3 Transylvania loss. First face-off between the Pioneers and the Tigers is set for 1:00 p.m. at Pat Deacon Stadium.

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