AUSTIN, Texas – The St. Edward’s men’s soccer team opened up its 2011 campaign with a convincing 4-0 victory against McMurry Thursday afternoon at Lewis-Chen Family Field.

 

St. Edward’s (1-0) opened the scoring in the 35th minute when James Martin (Freshman, Hayward’s Heath, England) placed a beautiful cornerkick passed everyone that went back post for his first collegiate goal.

 

The Hilltoppers had a few more chances in the first half, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Their best came just before halftime when JR Ellis (Junior, Coppell, Texas) sent a header from point-blank range from near the net but it was turned away by McMurry’s Zack Brewer. They outshot McMurry, 10-2 in the first half.

 

In the second half, St. Edward’s started to turn on the offensive pressure. Ellis finally found the back of the net in the 48^th minute when he received a nice cross from Bryan Booth (Senior, Colleyville, Texas) and volleyed the ball past Brewer to put the Hilltoppers ahead, 2-0.

 

Daniel Pena (Sophomore, Plano, Texas) made it 3-0 in the 52^nd minute as he tapped in a cross from Robert Olivieri (Junior, Keller, Texas).

 

Andrew Fox (Freshman, Cambridge, England) rounded out the scoring in the 87^th minute when he converted a penalty kick.

 

St. Edward’s outshot the War Hawks, 23-5. They also had seven cornerkicks compared to just one for McMurry.

 

The Hilltoppers will be back in action Wednesday when they host long-time rival Incarnate Word. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at the Lewis-Chen Family Field. Live audio and stats will be available on the St. Edward’s Athletic Website.

 

As a member of NCAA Division II and the Heartland Conference, St. Edward’s, has captured 46 conference titles, advanced to the NCAA tournament 48 times and has produced 30 All-Americans and 24 Academic All-Americans since 1999.

 

Founded by the Congregation of Holy Cross, St. Edward's University is named among the top five "Up-and-Coming Universities" in the Western Region by its academic peers in a 2011 U.S. News & World Report survey. For eight consecutive years St. Edward's has been recognized as one of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report. St. Edward’s has also been named one of “America’s Best Colleges” by Forbes and the Center for College Affordability.

 

St. Edward's is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university of more than 5,400 students located in Austin, Texas. For more information on St. Edward’s University, visit http://www.stedwards.edu/athletics.