ALBION, Mich. - An early two goal lead was not enough for the Trine University men's lacrosse team as they dropped their first MIAA game of the season to Albion College 15-9. The loss drops the Thunder to 7-6 on the year and 3-1 in the conference.

The Thunder jumped out to an 2-0 lead as freshman Jake Ahern (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) scored his fifth goal of the season two minutes in. Just 40 seconds later it would be sophomore Patrick Walker (Round Lake Park, Ill./Grayslake North) scoring for Trine on an assist from fellow sophomore Adam Martin (Farmington Hills, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central).

Albion would answer back with three goals of their own, tying and then taking the lead with 4:42 left in the quarter.

Walker would end the scoring spree for the Britons as he scored on an assist from junior Zach Matthews (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood) with 2:46 left. Just 40 seconds later though, Albion would retake the lead 4-3 at the end of the quarter.

The second quarter was a seesaw battle as the teams traded goals throughout the 15 minutes. In the period, Trine got goals from Ahern, freshman Chris Ward (Oak Lawn, Ill./St Rita) and Martin as Albion scored with 1:13 left in the half to take a 7-6 lead at the break.

The Britons would tally the first two goals of the second half as they pushed their lead to three. Walker would get the hat-trick at the 8:52 mark on an assist from freshman Nic Ruby (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard) but the celebration would be short lived. Albion would score a minute later and then scored a second at 3:49 of the quarter. The Thunder would make things interesting as 44 seconds later Martin would score his second of the game. Walker would score his fourth of the game with just 1:43 left to pull the Thunder within two.

That would be as close as the Thunder would come as they were shutout in the fourth quarter while the Britons scored four unanswered goals.

Junior Rob Brzezinski (Livonia, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) continued to dominate in the faceoff circle as he went 18-for-23 on the night.

Junior Matt Lamb (Akron, Ohio/Revere) took the loss in goal for the Thunder as he made 11 saves over 60 minutes of play.

For the day, the Thunder were held scoreless on man-up chances, going 0-for-7 while Albion converted on 2-of-6 opportunities. Albion successfully cleared on 21-of-26 chances while Trine converted on 12-of-20 clears.

Trine will head to Adrian on April 20 for a 1:00 p.m. game with the preseason MIAA favorites.