Classes may not have been in session this week, but Colorado College was reminded of a hard lesson it must learn during its 15-6 nonconference home loss to 19th-ranked Western New England University on Wednesday.

The visiting Golden Bears (3-1) were in control for much of the non-conference men's lacrosse contest played before 197 fans on a sunny but breezy day at Washburn Field. WNE, ranked No. 19 in both national polls, played with poise, something the less experienced Tigers did not, especially early.

“We have to start faster,” said head coach Sean Woods. “When you play a good team like that you have to play with poise and not make mistakes. That's the lesson we must learn from this.

“We played some younger guys who were in their first big spotlight game and they were a little tight. Before they knew it, it was 6-1.”

The unranked Tigers would fight back, scoring twice in eight seconds on goals by sophomore attacker Tyler Allen and senior attacker Moses Taylor to make it 6-3 with 9:32 remaining in the second period.

“Once we calmed down and started to play our game we looked good,” Woods said.

That prompted a timeout by Western New England, which tightened up its defense and reeled off four goals over the next eight minutes to take a 10-4 halftime lead which became a commanding 14-4 edge by late in the third.

That spurt was sparked by a 9-3 advantage in faceoff wins during those 23 minutes as the Golden Bears kept possession of the ball and rotated it around the Colorado College zone to set up high-quality scoring chances. WNEU led 16-8 in faceoffs for the game and enjoyed a 36-22 edge in shots.

The 8-1 scoring run slammed the door on the Tigers' hopes of a landmark victory over a perennial NCAA Division III playoff team.

“Hopefully we can win the conference and get back into the NCAA Tournament where a game like this can help prepare us to play the big dogs,” Woods said.

Taylor led the Tigers (2-2, 1-0 SCAC) with two goals. Junior midfielder Steve Rijo, freshman midfielder Gray Ritger and junior midfielder Charles Curtis also scored. The goals eight seconds apart in the second period were assisted by freshman midfielders Henri Halle and Kevin Wylie, respectively. Sophomore goaltender Zach Steedman recorded 12 saves.

Western New England was paced by three goals by senior midfielder Joe O'Keefe and two by sophomore attacker Owen Caruso. Senior netminder Brewster Knowlton stopped eight shots.

“They are a good team,” Woods said. “This will prepare us for our return to conference play where hopefully we can get back on the winning track.”

CC plays host to Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference foes Centre College at 4 p.m. on Friday and Sewanee at 1 p.m. Sunday.