BLUEFIELD, Va. – The Washington and Lee men's soccer team opened its 2011 campaign with a 4-0 victory over Bluefield College on Thursday evening.

The Generals (1-0) struck early, as senior midfielder Jamie Paldino (Kensington, Conn./Kingswood-Oxford) connected off a pass from classmate Connor Pierce (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park) in the 6th minute to give the squad a 1-0 lead.

W&L added another goal, an unassisted tally from junior forward Dave Phillips (Reisterstown, Md./Loyola Blakefield) with 24:30 on the clock to increase the lead to 2-0, which they took into halftime.

A quick goal from senior Pierce off a pass from Paldino extended the W&L lead to 3-0 just 1:41 into the second stanza.

Bluefield (0-1) had a chance to score when forward Steve Melhorn was awarded a penalty kick in the 66th minute, but his shot sailed high. The Generals controlled the tempo of the game the rest of the way, adding a late goal from junior forward Dylan Norvell (Richmond, Va./Henrico) as they cruised to the 4-0 victory.

Senior Ben Petitto (Gainesville, Fla./St. Francis Catholic) and sophomore Robert Gerbo (Morgantown, W.Va./University School) shared time in net, with Petitto recording two saves.

Bluefield keepers Jefferson Watson and Justin Cook also shared time in goal. Watson stopped five shots while Cook recorded three saves.

The Generals return to action on Sept. 10 as they travel to face host Elizabethtown as a part of the Blue Jay Classic at 4:00 pm.

AGATE
Scoring
W&L – Jamie Paldino (Connor Pierce) – 5:22
W&L – Dave Phillips (unassisted) – 24:30
W&L – Connor Pierce (Jamie Paldino) – 46:41
W&L – Dylan Norvell (John Stallé) – 80:52

 --GENERALS--