MINNEAPOLIS -- Scoring all seven of its goals in the second half, the Augsburg University men's soccer team opened Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a 7-1 triumph over Bethel University on Tuesday evening at Edor Nelson Field.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 7, Bethel 1
LOCATION: Edor Nelson Field, Minneapolis
RECORDS: Augsburg 4-1-0 overall (1-0-0 MIAC), Bethel 3-5-0 overall (0-2-0 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• After surrendering an "own goal" in the 17th minute, Augsburg had an offensive outburst in the second half, scoring seven goals while outshooting the Royals by an 18-4 margin. The Auggies outshot the Royals by a 26-9 margin in the game.
• Daniel Hedstrom (JR, Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS) opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the season, all coming on set pieces. His goal in the 48th minute came off a corner kick by Johnny Vu (SO, Maplewood, Minn./Roseville HS).
• The Auggies scored twice in a 2:19 span to take a 3-1 lead, as Ethan Poppen (FY, Verona, Wis./Verona HS) scored his first collegiate goal off a blocked shot by Vu at 51:12, and following a Bethel red card on a handball in the penalty box, Nick Zuchowski (FY, Wales, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) converted the ensuing penalty kick for his fourth goal of the season at 53:31.
• Augsburg punched in four more goals in the final 16 minutes of play. Emmanuel Egbujor (SR, Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park HS) scored on a give-and-go from Lionel Vang (JR, Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS) in the 75th minute, and Abdullah Alshayba (SR, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia/ISG Dammam HS) scored from Egbujor and Taylor Sullivan (JR, Waukesha, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) in the 80th minute.
• James Gagnon (JR, Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest HS) scored twice from Antonio Magadan (FY, Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) in the final 10 minutes of play.
• Garrett Kaelin (JR, Stillwater, Minn./Hill-Murray HS) picked up the win in goal, with four saves in 82 minutes. Ethan Derks (FY, Savage, Minn./Prior Lake HS) finished the game in net.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• It's the second time this season that Augsburg has scored seven goals in a game; the Auggies scored a 7-0 win over Crown on Sept. 6.
• The seven goals are the most scored by Augsburg over an MIAC opponent since a 7-1 win, also over Bethel, on Sept. 14, 2011.

QUOTES FROM AUGSBURG COACH GREG HOLKER
• "What a great crowd and a really good environment. We were happy to have this kind of performance in the second half and hope our fans and alumni enjoyed it."
• "Bethel had a good plan early, and they were beating us to loose balls and everything in the air in the first half. The goal we conceded came from a stunning strike from their guy that should be celebrated. He absolutely ripped it from 20-plus yards out after sneaking up on their corner kick. Unfortunately, our clearance was into our own guy and back in the net."
• "At halftime, we had a good conversation about what we needed to do differently to be more effective, and we started to wear them down, especially after Dan scored on our corner kick. Poppen's first collegiate goal then came from a slashing run and his never-give-up attitude."
• "Once they picked up the red card for denying Hedstrom his second goal, the game was always going to be different. Nonetheless, I thought Shayba and Sully were very good on the night, and Hedstrom's leadership was exceptional as always. Gagnon came on late and made a case to play a lot more with two quick goals -- that was a lot of fun for everyone. Magadan's entry balls were equally as valuable on his goals."
• "Nick Zuchowski and Kouseng Yang should also be noted. Koo calmed the game and Z is just incredible to watch."

FOR THE FOES
• Bethel's lone goal came on an "own goal" at the 16:29 mark. A shot by Andrew Zwart hit the crossbar, and the rebound was deflected off an Augsburg defender into the Auggie net.
• Colin Hupert had eight saves in goal for the Royals, and Brandon Martinez had four shots in the game.

UP NEXT
• Augsburg travels to face Saint Mary's in an MIAC game on Saturday (9/22) at 3:30 p.m.
• Bethel hosts North Central (Minn.) in nonconference play on Thursday (9/20) at 4 p.m.