*This box score is incorrect and will be changed 

SALISBURY, Md. – The TCNJ men's soccer team dropped its season opener by a 4-1 count to St. Mary's (Md.) in the second game of Salisbury's Elmer Lord Memorial Tournament on Friday.
 
Lucas Sample and Sam Snyder connected for the Lions' lone goal, a beautiful set piece just shy of the hour mark in which Snyder outmaneuvered a defender for Sample's high-arcing, left-footed free kick from about 30 yards out and planted a diving header into the bottom right corner of the net.
 
TCNJ got off on the front foot as Sample and Massimo Rodio fired off early shots, with the latter's forcing the St. Mary's keeper into action. The Seahawks, however, put the game away around the midway point of the first half with a pair of goals just over two minutes apart followed by another in the 34^th minute to take a 3-0 lead into halftime.
 
St. Mary's tacked on another early in the second before Sample and Snyder got TCNJ on the board.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The stats were mostly even despite the score, with TCNJ conceding a 13-7 deficit in shots and both teams notching four corners
• The Lions put five of their seven attempts on target
• Rodio paced the pride with two shots
• Logan Gebhart and Colin Rentner split time in goal for TCNJ, each recording a pair of saves

NOTES

• Julien DeLorenzo, Brett Lockburner, Sam Hankins, Nathan Lipton, and Jack Smyth all made their TCNJ debuts
• Rentner received his first career start and manned the posts for the first time since he was a rookie in 2021, while Ryan Super saw his first action in two seasons
• Sample recorded the first point of his career with his second-half assist
• Joseph Lucignano joined Rentner as a first-time starter, while Sample's start was the second of his career

UP NEXT

• The Lions finish off their opening weekend tournament against host Salisbury on Saturday