EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Southern Indiana men's soccer team opened the season 2-0 for the first time since 1999 with a 4-0 conquest of Union University Sunday afternoon at Strassweg Field.
 
The scoring opened for the Screaming Eagles at the 41:12 mark with the first collegiate goal for freshman forward Erick Hasselkus (Evansville, Indiana) on a gem of a pass from sophomore forward Pedro Castro (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil). Castro weaved his way through traffic before sliding a pass between defenders to find Hasselkus completing his run into the box.

The Eagles attack fired up once again in the second half as USI tallied four goals in the final 45 minutes. At 47:21, sophomore midfielder Cesar Alba (Hanover Park, Illinois) was brought down in the box and awarded a penalty kick. Alba pounded the penalty kick into the center of the net, pushing the Eagles ahead 2-0.
 
Less than a minute later at 48:20, Alba contributed again with a curving corner kick which senior defender Josh Weinzapfel rose up and headed in past the goalkeeper.
 
The final USI strike came at the 79:00 mark, as Hasselkus found freshman Justin Gentry's cross and cracked it past the goalkeeper to secure the Eagles' 4-0 victory.
 
The Eagles were once again strong defensively, led by goalkeeper Adam Zehme (Orland Park, Illinois) and a solid backline. Zehme earned the start in goal and recorded five saves in his second victory of the season.
 
As a team, USI and Union tied in shots with 13 with the Eagles owning an advantage in shots-on-goal, 8-5. USI also won the battle for corner kicks, 7-1.
 
USI opens conference play next weekend with a road match against the University of Illinois Springfield on Friday and a home contest against McKendree University on Sunday at 2:30 pm at Strassweg Field.