INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. - In the 2016 season-opener, Sierra Nevada came away with a 9-3 victory on the road against Chico State. Junior captain Jake McIntyre paced the Eagles' offense with a hat trick on the day.

McIntyre opened up the scoring midway through the first quarter, putting the Eagles up 1-0. SNC would never trail during the remaining three quarters of play.

SNC was challenged significantly during the game with 11 man-down situations. Fortunately, the Eagle defense held stout, only allowing one man-down goal throughout the contest.

"Our defense was the highlight of the game today," said SNC coach Matt Blamey. "In a fast-paced game, it's difficult to hold any team to three goals. To do it facing so many penalties is an outright accomplishment. We can't expect that kind of performance in every game. We've got to temper the penalties moving forward and keep our team playing at even strength."

Other notable performances were attackman Kyle Rockwell with two goals. Four other Eagles netting a goal apiece. LSM Jack Witt was all over the field, grabbing 10 ground balls.

Next up: the Eagles open WCLL conference play as they travel to the University of the Pacific on Sunday, Feb. 28. Faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.