HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – After three tightly contested quarters, the Purchase College men's lacrosse team opened the scoring gates over the final 15 en route to an 8-5 season-opening win over Centenary University Saturday afternoon. 

Panther rookie Shakim Carr (FR/Brooklyn, NY) scored the unassisted game-winner with just under 11 minutes left in regulation. Minutes later, the standout newcomer found the back of the net again, scoring off a feed from Zach Collins (SO/Victor, NY). Quran Langston (FR/Stamford, CT) followed with an unassisted tally to stretch Purchase's advantage to 8-5, while sophomore goalie Will Boes (Pleasantville, NY) shut down a pair of Centenary attempts in the final minutes to secure PC the victory. 

Fifth-year attack Cristian Ishoo (Tarrytown, NY) got things started for the visiting Panthers, scoring the opening goal off an assist from sophomore attack Andrew Agosto (Poughkeepsie, NY). 

The hosts answered back with an unassisted tally from Jason Toledo to tie the game at 1-apiece, but Purchase countered with goals from Langston and Angus Goldman (SR/Palisades, NY) to jump back in front, 3-1. 

Centenary capped the first-quarter scoring with a Ronan Bova goal (UP) and was the first to light up the board in the second quarter, resulting in the second tie of the game. Purchase snapped the Cyclone rally with two goals to take a 5-3 lead, but the Centenary fired back with a 2-0 run of its own to tie the game once again (5-5).

With solid efforts from the dynamic rookie duo of Carr and Langston and the impenetrable Panther defense, Purchase outscored the hosts 3-0 over the final 15 minutes for the 8-5 non-conference win. 

PC used goals from five different players, including two tallies apiece from Carr, Langston and Goldman and 1-apiece from Ishoo and Collins. 

For the game, the Panthers outshot Centenary 32-28 and picked up 38 ground balls to the hosts' 18. Purchase also won the face-off battle 14-3, headlined by Joe Ely (SR/North Salem, NY) who won 13-of-14.

PC will return to action on Wednesday, Mar. 1, as the Panthers head to Madison, N.J. for a non-conference game against Drew University. Opening face-off is slated for 7 p.m.

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