OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. -- The 11th-ranked Mercyhurst men's lacrosse team lost its season opener to the New York Institute of Technology, 16-9, on Saturday.

Colin Greenway led the Laker attack with four goals while Sam Crusha tallied three scores for MU (0-1). Torin Van Rheenen and Michael Convery also had goals.

Devin Pipher contributed two assists while Dan Kritkausky and Oran Horn added single assists.

In the cage, Mercyhurst goalie William Koester registered 11 saves before Alec Starr made two stops in relief. Starr led the team in groundballs with six.

For host NYIT (1-0), Andrew Zito led the way with five goals and one assist. Austin Fitzpatrick added three goals and one assits.

Shlomo Amar was 18 of 24 in the faceoff circle for the Bears, totaling 12 GBs. Winning goalie Jake Mellen had 11 saves.

NYIT jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first quarter and then widened the gap to 9-2 at halftime. After falling behind 14-4, the Lakers closed out the game with a 5-2 run.

The Bears outshot the Lakers, 53-34, and held a 37-25 edge in groundballs and 19-9 advantage on faceoffs.

The Lakers will return to action on Sunday, Feb. 18, when they take on Wingate at neutral-site Randolph-Macon.