RALEIGH — Panther Creek lacrosse coach James Alridge knew that opening a new season against a lacrosse powerhouse like Cardinal Gibbons would not be an easy night for his team. Because the Catamounts’ first game was canceled due to weather, Alridge and his team traveled to Cardinal Gibbons and left the field after a 14-1 loss.

But despite the lopsided defeat, Alridge saw positives as his team battled one of its toughest opponents of the season.

“I was just hoping we would come out and play hard, which I think we did,” Alridge said. “It looks like a first game, and against a tough opponent it looks even more like a first game.”

The Catamounts held Cardinal Gibbons for the first several minutes, but once the Crusaders got on the board, the floodgates opened. The Catamounts found themselves down 8-0 in the second quarter before a holding penalty gave Panther Creek a man-advantage.

After circling the ball around the Cardinal Gibbons’ goal, Panther Creek’s Jeffrey Turner found the back of the net to give the Catamounts their first and only goal.

“They were doing a great job of staying on our hands and forcing us to take tough shots and pushing us down the alley,” senior Taylor Womble said of the Crusader defense. “They’re just a great defensive team.”

Maintaining possession wasn’t a problem for Panther Creek’s attack — the problem was finding a clear shot.

“Hanging onto the ball was key, plus they’ve got a pretty solid defense, which played really well,” Alridge said. “It’s a very well-coached team we played tonight, so I expected to have some trouble with that.”

Most of the Crusaders’ 14 goals came off fast-break opportunities. After stealing the ball near their own goal, the Crusaders continually burst down field, using a quick-pass attack to find open shots.

“It’s them being able to move the ball quickly and us doing a little more ball watching than we should have,” Alridge said. “We’re in the right areas, but not paying attention to the right things. Again, that’s kind of first-game jitters, but maybe not.”

Panther Creek coaches and players alike were pleased with the overall effort given Friday night, but they know there is plenty to work on before game No. 2.

“One of our season goals was to always play hard, and we accomplished that, playing hard pretty much the whole game,” Womble said. “We just need to work on things like getting more shots off.”