Nelson’s Hat Trick Lifts Men’s Soccer Past Lesley in Season Opener, 5-0

QUINCY, Mass.- In head coach Nick Thompson's first game at the helm, the Eastern Nazarene College men's soccer team claimed a 5-0 non-conference victory over Lesley Tuesday evening at Veterans Memorial Stadium behind a three-goal performance by sophomore Andrew Nelson (Burtonsville, Md.).

With the result, the Lions begin the fall with a 1-0-0 overall record while the Lynx sink to 0-1-0 on the year.

Eastern Nazarene 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.

The Lions doubled their advantage to 2-0 with less than one minute remaining in the first half. Rookie Connor Hudson-Bryant (Weymouth, Mass.) headed home his first collegiate goal off of a corner kick delivery by Pinaud.

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 but Anthony Vitta's long-range attempt careened off the crossbar.

Eastern Nazarene netted its fifth goal of the game in the 68th minute of play. Senior David Eddings (Endicott, N.Y.) pounced on a loose ball at the top of the penalty area before dribbling in on a breakaway and sliding a shot inside the left post for his first tally of the season. Freshman Zachary Rodas (Douglas, Mass.) picked up his first collegiate assist on Edding's score.

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.

Up next, the Lions will hit the road for a string of seven consecutive away matches starting with a non-league tilt at Colby-Sawyer September 5.