(boxscore)

Despite two second-half goals from senior Justin Upp (Camden, DE), Widener was dealt a tough 7-6 season-opening loss at No. 5 Stevenson.

Junior Cory Malampy (Ridley, PA) and freshman Johnny Casey (Glenside, PA) scored for Widener (0-1), which trailed 3-2 at quarter time.  Andrew Janusz (Easton, PA) tallied early in the second quarter and fellow sophomore Lee Petroski (Springfield, PA) followed suit with five seconds remaining for a 5-4 deficit.

The Mustangs (1-0) pushed their margin to 7-4 in the third on goals from Richie Ford and Steve Kazimer.  Upp scored with 1:21 to go in the third and 58 seconds into the fourth, but the Pride could not come up with the equalizer.

Malampy ended with nine shots, Kevin Rider (Shamong, NJ) notched four ground balls and fellow sophomore Kevin Carney (Ridley, PA) totaled nine saves for Widener, which closed with a 35-29 shots edge.

Kazimer posted a hat trick with Ford and Brett Yoder scoring two goals apiece for the Mustangs.

It will not get easier next Saturday for Widener, which visits top-ranked Salisbury for a 3:00 pm start.