SOLVAY - The Auburn boys lacrosse team had multiple chances to end its five-game losing streak at Solvay High School March 27, but the Skaneateles defense was there to thwart nearly every attempt.

The Maroons squandered several early man-up situations and gave up two crucial second-quarter goals as they fell to the Lakers, 8-3.

“I thought we had some opportunities that we didn't capitalize on on the offensive end,” Auburn coach Steve Crosby said. “We lost our composure in one particular spot, and I think we're working our way through some growing pains right now. We need to make some steps pretty quickly and get to a better place here.”

Skaneateles was playing aggressively from the start and racked up four first-quarter penalties.

Still, it kept Auburn off the board until midway through the second.

“I think we got a little frustrated at times and had mostly push-type penalties,” Lakers coach Ron Doctor said. “We were trying to get to the ball, and we just didn't have the angles. That's frustrating, and they had to work their way out, but I think they did in the end.”

The Maroons just couldn't get their offense clicking and only managed two shots in the first quarter.

“Skaneateles is obviously a very good team, and you've got to take advantage of those opportunities when you have them,” Crosby said. “We didn't do that today.”

Skaneateles was having problems of its own on offense.

After Erich Pingel put the Lakers on the board at the 8:25 mark, they weren't able to score for more than 14 minutes.

“The timing on offense was all out of sync early in the second period, but they bounced back, and that's a key part right there,” Doctor said. “Early in the season, that's probably a good sign for us.”

The Maroons dominated faceoffs, were able to get to the ground balls after Laker turnovers and maintained a substantial edge in possession.

They finally tied things up when Derek Anderson found Bob Brannigan with 5:53 to go in the first half.

Skaneateles only won four faceoffs, but they proved to be crucial.

The Lakers were awarded possession on a penalty after the Maroons' goal, and Scott Castle scored his first of two goals almost immediately thereafter.

Matt Chadderdon tied it up with 2:17 to go in the second quarter.

Auburn won the next faceoff but lost possession, and Devin Lynch capitalized.

He scored again less than a minute later to give the Lakers a 4-2 lead.

Chadderdon would score the Maroons' last goal at the 9:33 mark in the third quarter in a man-down situation. After that, the Lakers defense clamped down.

Skaneateles upped its intensity, breaking up passes, causing turnovers and tightening up around goal. The turnovers led to offense for the Lakers, as they outshot the Maroons by 10 in the third.

The lengths of Skaneateles' possessions increased, leading to two Jeffrey Donavan goals midway though the quarter. Castle and Lynch scored in the fourth to keep Auburn out of it.

“We thought at halftime if we just didn't turn the ball over, if we could possess it, we'd get a chance to work some offense,” Doctor said. “Be a little more patient and get some better shots.”

The Lakers led in shots, 22-20, but the Maroons had the overwhelming edge in faceoffs, 10-4. Joshua Kimm had 10 saves for Skaneateles, while Mark Green had eight stops in the cage for Auburn.