QUINCY, Mass.- Lesley University's season opener was spoiled by host Eastern Nazarene College this evening as the Lynx suffered a 5-0 setback to the Lions this afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Eastern Nazarene sophomore Andrew Nelson (Burtonsville, Md.) powered the offense for the hosts as he found the back of the net three times.
The Lions opened the scoring in the 15th minute to grab a 1-0 lead. Erick Pinaud (Norwalk, Conn.) served in a corner kick and Nelson fired a left-footed volley into the left side of the cage for his first tally of the fall.
Eastern Nazarene doubled their advantage to 2-0 with less than one minute remaining in the first half. Freshman Connor Hudson-Bryant (Weymouth, Mass.) headed home his first collegiate goal off of a corner kick delivery by Pinaud.
Lesley best opportunity of the half came on the heels of a corner kick as junior Harrison Sidell (Newhall, Calif.) sent a cross into the box that found the head of senior Ryan Richardson (Santa Barbara, Calif.), but Richardson's flick went high to keep the Lynx scoreless.
At the intermission, Lesley held an 8-5 edge in shots while Eastern Nazarene owned a 4-3 margin in shots on target. Both squads earned three corner kicks in the opening frame.
The hosts tacked on a score in the 52nd minute to widen the gap to 3-0 as Nelson found the back of the net for the second time on the day. Nelson raced past the Lesley backline before slotting a low shot into the net.
Nelson completed the hat trick in the 55th minute to stretch the Lions' lead to 4-0. The sophomore sprinted by a Lynx defender to recover a loose ball inside the penalty box. Nelson beat the visitors' goalkeeper with a right-footed shot for his third marker of the contest.
Lesley nearly got on the scoreboard in the 64th minute on a right-footed drive from sophomore Anthony Vitta (Oceanside, N.Y.), but his long-range attempt careened off the crossbar.
Eastern Nazarene added their fifth goal of the game in the 68th minute of play as they cruised to the 5-0 victory to move to 1-0-0 on the year.
Junior Jameson MacFarland (Jacksonville, Fla.) made five saves between the pipes to earn his first career clean sheet.
Chase Donley stopped three shots in goal for Lesley and James Webb recorded one save in 25 minutes of relief action.
The home side finished the match with 14 shots while registered nine on frame. The away team managed 15 shots in the game with just five on target.
The Lynx will stay on the road when they return to the pitch on Friday night at Mount Ida for another non-conference affair while the Lions will hit the road for a string of seven consecutive away matches starting with a non-league tilt at Colby-Sawyer on Saturday.
Portions of this release courtesy Eastern Nazarene Sports Information.
