The Genesee Community College men's lacrosse team must have had the weather on their minds because like the temperature, the team had a cold start. The Cougars put together back-to-back five goal quarters for a combined 10-goals in the middle frames in the second and third to coast to a 15-10 road win to open the season.
After trailing 4-2 after the first quarter, the team rallied to take a 7-5 lead at the intermission and then scored eight more goals in the next two quarters. Andrew Forte was a key figure in giving the Cougars possession after dominating the faceoff circle with 18 wins.
Genesee had four multi-goal scorers and was led by Jason Chiodo's five goals. Alex Mack scored three including the game winner, while Jordan Brennan and Evan Hollfelder each added a pair. Single tallies came from Kevin McParlene, Patrick Bilbrey and Tyler Thompson.
Brennan and McParlene co-led the team in assists with three, while Chiodo also recorded a pair of helpers for a seven-point night. Garrett Lazore and Lincoln Potter split equal time in the cage with Lazore getting the start and recording four saves, while Potter recorded three saves in relief with each logging 30 minutes. Although each keeper allowed five goals against, one of Lazore's and two of Potters' were while Monroe was man-up.
Genesee had 18 more shots toward the net than Monroe at 51-33 and also won 14 more draws than the Tribunes at 40-26.
The Cougars remain on the road as they travel to Baltimore, Md. to face the Community College of Baltimore County in Essex Stadium March 10 at 12 p.m., before returning to Batavia for their home opener March 17.