ASTON, Pa. – The Neumann University men's lacrosse team fell to Alvernia University 16-6 in the season opener on Saturday afternoon.
 
Ricky Viscuse and Sergio Plesati each netted two goals. Ron Lassiter and Jeremy Pierson tallied the other goals for Neumann. Ryan Lee led the Knights with 10 shots.
 
Antonio Gibson started in net and made 18 saves and picked up eight ground balls.
 
The Crusaders came out to an early 4-0 lead before Viscuse put Neumann on the board with 3:53 left to play in the first quarter. Alvernia added a fifth goal to conclude the first quarter.
 
Alvernia continued its scoring in the second quarter, adding three goals to take an 8-1 lead going into halftime.
 
The Knights came out strong in the third quarter as Plesati scored two goals in the first three minutes for an 8-3 score. Alvernia answered back with two goals of its own. With 9:03 left to play in the quarter, Lassiter found the back of the net for a 10-4 game.
 
Trailing 12-4 going into the fourth quarter, Pierson scored at the 11:00 mark to decrease Neumann's deficit. Ricky added his second goal with 3:28 left to play in the game. The final three goals belonged to Alvernia to close out the scoring.
 
Neumann (0-1) will next host La Roche College on Monday, March 7. Face-off is slated for 4:00 PM.