CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Mt. Ida College senior Michael Templeton (Charlestown, N.H.) headed home a corner kick off the foot of sophomore JT Yager (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) in the 81^st minute to seal the 1-0 victory for the visiting Mustangs as they defeat the Lynx in the season opener for both teams tonight at Edward Field.

Senior Mat Pils (Monroe, Conn.) stopped two shots on his way to earning the win in goal for the visitors while junior Chase Donley (Elizabethtown, Pa.) registered one save and was charged with the loss in between the pipes for the Lynx.

The two teams exchanged scoring chances early. In the 8^th minute, Lesley sophomore Erik Johansen (West Harrison, N.Y.) put his head on a ball off a corner kick from senior Jordan Santos (Middlebury, Conn.), but the attempt sailed just wide of the far post.

The Mustangs responded in the 17^th minute as senior Oscar Lemus (Revere, Mass.) sent a curling blast from 20 yards-out but Donley made an outstanding save, diving to his right and sending the ball out of bounds. A shot by senior Ryan Gray (Bayport, N.Y.) sailed high over the cross bar on the ensuing corner kick.

Lemus nearly put the Mustangs ahead minutes before the close of the first half as he forced a turnover in the Lesley defensive end and rifled a shot from the top of the box that skimmed the outside of the far post, leaving the match knotted at 0-0 after the first 45-minutes.

The Mustangs, who were outshot by a 7-3 margin in the first half, held possession throughout most of the second and kept the offensive pressure of the Lesley backline. It appeared the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the 62^nd minute when a free kick sailed into the back of the Lesley net, but the goal was disallowed due to an offensive foul called in the box leaving the game scoreless.

Templeton's goal came on the second of two consecutive corner kicks for the Mustangs as he jumped above a line of Lynx defenders to get his head on the ball, putting the ball into the upper right corner in the game's only tally.

Mt. Ida ended the game with a 9-7 advantage in shots while also holding an 11-7 edge in corner kicks on the night. It was the first time since 2008 that Mt. Ida has defeated Lesley.

The Lynx will return to Edward Field on Wednesday, September 3^rd when they welcome Eastern Nazarene at 8:00p as part of their five-match homestand to open the season. The Mustangs will open up their home schedule on Sunday, August 31^st as the play host to Regis College. Kickoff is slated for 1:00p.