Striker Benjamin Tembo scored two goals and goalie Casey Phillips notched a shutout as The Master’s University’s men’s soccer team inaugurated their 2017 season with a 5-0 win over Northwest of Washington on Reese Field Saturday afternoon.

The result pleased 27th-year head coach Jim Rickard who said, “We’re excited to begin the year and take a step forward with team chemistry. The coaching staff has really enjoyed this group throughout the preseason and happy to start the season. Northwest is a solid team with a great coaching staff, so to start off with a quality win is encouraging.”

Controlling the tempo from the opening whistle, the Mustangs produced five shots in the match’s first seven minutes. The last of those found the net off the foot of Luis Garcia-Sosa at the 7:07 mark. The sophomore midfielder scored the season’s first goal from inside the box following passes from Tembo and Leonardo Anjos.

Just under eight minutes later, Garcia-Sosa was on the other end of the match’s second goal as he assisted on junior transfer Daniel Smith’s tally at the 15:49 mark. Smith fired in his first TMU goal from the top of the box.

The Mustangs capped their first-half assault on the Eagle goal at 24:02 when Tembo and Smith combined to give the Mustangs a 3-0 lead. Taking a pass from Smith, Tembo struck a powerful shot that found the top right corner of the net.

Then, with 13:33 left to play (76:27), Tembo finished off the scoring after taking a pass from Anjos and beating Eagle goalie Daniel Christenson for the second multi-goal match of his career and a 5-0 lead.

The Mustangs concluded the match with a 22-10 shot advantage, including 11-3 on goal.

Looking at his club’s five goals and five assists, Rickard commented, “It was also nice to have balanced scoring and assists.”

Outshooting the Eagles 11-3 during the opening 45 minutes, the Mustangs took their three-goal advantage into the halftime break. Phillips was rarely challenged in the first half and when he was, he turned back Northwest’s only first-half shot on goal at the 19:56 mark.

Phillips picked up two more saves in the second half at the 53:28 and 88:10 marks, respectively, en route to his seventh career shutout.

His teammates gave him more of a cushion to work with in the second half, scoring twice in a 20-minute window. Sophomore forward Dylan Bielanski put in the first of those goals in unassisted fashion at 56:21.

Then, with 13:33 left to play (76:27), Tembo finished off the scoring after taking a pass from Anjos and beating Eagle goalie Daniel Christenson for the second multi-goal match of his career and a 5-0 lead.

The Mustangs concluded the match with a 22-10 shot advantage, including 11-3 on goal.

Looking at his club’s five goals and five assists, Rickard commented, “It was also nice to have balanced scoring and assists.”

With the season opener in the win column, the Mustangs travel to Northern California next week to play two matches in Atherton. On Thursday, the Mustangs take on Southern Oregon and then face UC Merced on Friday.