GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Washington & Jefferson opened up a 5-1 lead through 15 minutes of play and never looked back in a 9-8 win at Thiel to open up the 2015 men's lacrosse season.

The victory marks the third-straight season that the Presidents begin with a win, all of which have come against the Tomcats. It was also the first collegiate victory in the head coaching career of first-year mentor Kevin Kustron.

It took just 1:34 for Tim Angell to find the back of the net off a feed from Kyle MacKenzie, 1-0. Zachary Fredericks needed just 1:53 more to push the lead to 2-0 at the 11:33 mark of the first quarter. Thiel got on the board at 9:22 and then W&J scored the next three goals to end the period up 5-1. Bryan Whipkey scored off an assist by Kyle Heinig at 7:49 and then Whipkey connected with Angell for a goal exactly five minutes later. The scoring in the frame closed when Fredericks notched his second goal with under one minute in the quarter.

The second period saw three goals -- all scored by Thiel -- as the hosts cut the margin at halftime to 5-4. Just the same, the Presidents scored the only two goals of the third quarter to push the margin back to three, 7-4. W&J needed just 28 seconds for the two scores, with Angell completing the hat trick at 12:58 off a Whipkey pass and then Fredericks doing the same unassisted in a man-up scenario.

After the fourth quarter began, Thiel quickly cut the margin to 7-6 by the 11:14 mark. Angell answered the second score in just nine seconds to push the lead back to two off a feed from Chase Bennett. Devon Curran ended the W&J scoring at 9:52 when he finished following a MacKenzie assist. Thiel was able to find the goal line twice the rest of the way, but could not overcome the Presidents' lead.

For the game, the Tomcats held a commanding 51-25 edge on shots, but shots on goal was much closer with Thiel just edging W&J, 23-20.

Angell led all players with four goals, needing just four shots to do so. Fredericks posted three scores and Whipkey added three points (goal, two assists). MacKenzie offered a pair of helpers.

Ryan Quan won 11-of-20 faceoffs and picked up a game-best nine ground balls. Bennett and Jacob Succop each added six GBs. Succop earned the win in goal, the first of his career. He made 15 saves, the second-highest total of his career.

The Presidents travel to University Heights, Ohio on Saturday, Feb. 21 for a 5:30 p.m. contest at John Carroll.