LEXINGTON, Va. -- Senior forward Jack Palmer (Williamsburg, Va./Jamestown) netted two goals as the Washington and Lee men's soccer team opened its 2007 campaign with a 5-0 victory over Southern Virginia at Watt Field on Thursday afternoon.

The Generals (1-0) got on the board in the 15th minute of the first half with a score from senior midfielder Josh Dodds (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) and extended their lead to 2-0 when Palmer tallied his first goal of the contest at 17:48. Freshman midfielder James Pymm (Smithtown, N.Y./St. Anthony's) capped off the Blue and White's first-half scoring with a tally in the 41st minute of play to give W&L a 3-0 lead at half.

Palmer found the back of the net again at 70:05 and freshman forward Benjamin Belair (McLean, Va./Langley) registered the final goal of the game with just under two minutes remaining to give W&L the 5-0 victory.

The Generals out-shot the Knights, 31-6, and held a 10-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Seniors Ted Sheedy (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) and Jim Tartaglia (Richmond, Va./J.R. Tucker) split time in goal, combining to make one save for W&L. SVU (1-4) freshman goalkeeper Jason Lowe (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) made 11 saves.

The Generals return to action on Saturday when they take on No. 9 Johns Hopkins at 7:00 pm in Baltimore, Md.

GOALS
W&L - Jack Palmer (2), Josh Dodds, Benjamin Belair, James Pymm 
SVU - None

ASSISTS
W&L - None 
SVU - None

GOALKEEPERS
Ted Sheedy (W&L) - 45:00, 0 GA, 0 Saves
Jim Tartaglia (W&L) -  45:00, 0 GA, 1 Save
Jason Lowe (SVU) - 90:00, 5 GA, 11 Saves

TEAM STATS
W&L - 31 shots, 10 corner kicks, 1 saves, No Cards
SVU - 6 shots, 1 corner kicks, 11 saves, Yellow Card - Adam Freeman