NEW LONDON, Conn.  – The Connecticut College men's lacrosse team dropped its home opener to Colby College by a 13-12 final on Saturday afternoon in a NESCAC battle at Silfen Field.

Gavin Rothenberg gave Colby its first lead of the day with 26.5 seconds remaining in the contest, and the visitors held on in the final moments to improve to 2-1 overall (1-1 NESCAC). Rothenberg netted a hat trick to lead the Mules while Bennett Goller, Harrison Leenhouts, Nick Sokolosky and Doug McCarthy each added a pair of goals.

Jack Tenzer (Charlotte, N.C.) paced Conn with four goals and two assists on the day, matching a career high for the senior. Ryan Breheny (Bridgewater, Mass.) tacked on a pair of scores while JJ Ford (Clinton, Conn.) and Patrick Atkins (Topsfield, Mass.) finished with a goal and an assist apiece.

The Camels got off to a good start thanks to back-to-back tallies by Breheny and Myles Newport (Oakville, Ontario) midway through the first quarter. Breheny supplied another goal with 2:19 left in the period to give Conn a 3-1 advantage heading into the second quarter.

Goals by Tenzer, Michael Moran (Columbia, S.C.) and Ford gave the Camels their biggest lead at 6-2 with 2:11 left in the half. The two sides then traded goals in the final minute—including another tally by Tenzer—and the hosts led 7-3 at intermission.

Colby clawed its way back behind a 5-2 scoring edge in the third period. McCarthy and Goller each scored twice in the stanza, and the latter also handed out an assist as the Mules closed the gap to 9-8.

Conn got some breathing room early in the fourth thanks to goals by Tenzer and Colter Lingelbach-Pierce (Etna, N.H.). However, Colby rallied back with three straight tallies to pull even at 11-11 with 8:18 to go. Isaiah Kozub (Wilbraham, Mass.) later fed Atkins for the go-ahead goal with 5:59 left, but Sokolosky responded with an unassisted effort just 50 seconds later to knot the score at 12-12. 

Goalie Will Rice (New Rochelle, N.Y.) made a huge save to keep the game tied with 2:00 to play, but the Camels turned the ball over on the ensuing clear attempt. Colby then held the ball to run down the clock and called a timeout with 33 seconds to go. On the restart, Max Solmssen took the ball behind the cage and fed Rothenberg in front for a shot that slipped inside the left post. 

Justin Turley won the final face-off of the day to help Colby seal the victory. He went 19-for-29 at the face-off spot and led all players with eight ground balls. 

Rice finished with 11 saves against 34 total shots. Colby goalie Matt Suffredini recorded seven saves in the win. 

Conn (0-2 overall, 0-2 NESCAC) will next play at Salve Regina University on Monday, March 11 at 4:00 p.m.