PLYMOUTH, Wis. – St. Norbert College scored two early goals and the Lakeland University men's soccer team was dealt its first loss of the season with a 2-0 defeat Wednesday night at Taylor Field.

The Muskies put up a fight in the second half but dropped their Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference opener to the conference defending regular season champions. Lakeland saw its season-opening four-match unbeaten streak ended and dropped to 2-1-2 overall.

The Green Knights (2-2-2 overall, 1-0 NACC) scored their two goals just over three minutes apart before the game was a quarter old. The first came when Caden Etzel headed in a long free kick by Lucas Rojas at 17 minutes, 53 seconds of the match, capitalizing after early pressure including two previous shots on goal plus another off the crossbar.

St. Norbert would score again 3:04 later as Tyler Bonin got behind the Muskies defense for a shot that Ben Taylor (So.-Sheboygan, Wis.) deflected away. Joe Meade was right there to clean up the rebound and scored his second goal of the season for a 2-0 lead in the 21st minute.

Lakeland was quiet in a first half where SNC finished with a 10-1 shots advantage, but the Muskies made a push in the second half. Lakeland controlled possession a good share of the final 45 minutes and even had two prime chances in a span of less than two minutes.

The first came in the 63rd minute, when Taylor sent a long kick down the middle. Michecadet Gethand (Jr.-Jackson, Wis.) and Gavin Pinchart (So.-DePere, Wis.) both were in position to deflect the initial St. Norbert touch towards the goal and past keeper Nate Jocz. Pinchart had an open net briefly, only for his shot to be cleared away by a Green Knights defender.

The Muskies put together another quick attack in transition in the 64th minute. Kidus Samson (Jr.-San Francisco, Calif.) sent a beautiful long pass through from right to left, but Pinchart wasn't quite able to control the touch, which went right to Jocz in front of the goal.

Lakeland finished with a 4-1 advantage in shots on goal in the second half. St. Norbert finished the match with a 17-5 lead in shot attempts and a 6-4 edge in shots on goal.

Taylor made four saves in goal for the Muskies while Jocz made three saves in the second half for the Green Knights.

Lakeland faces another tough NACC opponent Saturday when it hosts perennial contender Dominican University at noon at Taylor Field.