EASTON, Pa. – Sophomore midfielder Matt McGonigle scored the first goal of his collegiate career, but the Holy Cross men's soccer team was defeated by Lafayette 2-1 at Oaks Stadium. The Crusaders open the season at 0-1, while the Leopards improve to 2-0 on the year.

Lafayette opened the scoring on a goal by Sebastian Varela in the 31st minute. Less than four minutes later, Marcos Kitromilides added a goal to give the Leopards a 2-0 lead. The score remaining the same until midway through the second half, when McGonigle scored from 18 yards out after a scramble in the Lafayette box. Holy Cross was not able to score again, as the Leopards held on for the win.

Sophomore goalkeeper Jimmy Joyce made four saves for the Crusaders in his collegiate debut. Alex Sutton had two saves for Lafayette.

The Leopards held narrow leads of 11-8 in shots and 6-5 in corner kicks on the afternoon.

"We got off to a slow start, which was somewhat expected as this was our first game back," said head coach Marco Koolman. "But we settled down in the second half and had a number of good scoring opportunities. It was a tough loss, but I was encouraged by our second half performance."

Holy Cross returns to action on Sunday, March 21, when it travels to Boston University for a 5:00 p.m. game.