Men’s Soccer Tops Lesley 2-0 in Season Debut

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's soccer team collected a 2-0 victory at Lesley to kick-off the 2016 campaign Thursday evening behind a pair of first-half goals.

The Lions improve to 1-0-0 on the season while the Lynx sink to 0-1-0 overall.

Seth Weaver (Dillsburg, Pa.) opened the scoring in the 23rd minute to give Eastern Nazarene a 1-0 edge. Andrew Nelson (Burtonsville, Md.) curled a pass into the penalty box and Weaver knocked the ball into the back of the net for his first collegiate tally.

Nelson doubled the Lions lead to 2-0 in the 39th minute. The junior received the ball on the left wing before slipping past a defender and tucking a right-footed shot inside the far post for his first marker of the year.

Eastern Nazarene fired five shots in the opening half while Lesley recorded 11 shots.

In the second half, the Lions' defense hunkered down to preserve the shutout. The guests finished with nine shots on the night while the hosts racked up 20 attempts.

Senior Jameson MacFarland (Jacksonville, Fla.) made six stops between the posts to pick up his fifth career clean sheet. On the opposite end of the pitch, James Webb turned aside three shots in goal for the Lynx.

"Our defense was outstanding tonight! The guys worked hard and really clicked as a unit. I was extremely pleased with the entire squad's effort," commented head coach Mark Bell.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene returns home to take on Framingham State September 3 under the lights at Veterans Memorial Stadium at 7 pm.