MINNEAPOLIS -- A four-goal outburst in a 12-minute span midway through the first half gave the Augsburg University men's soccer team a comfortable lead, en route to a 4-0 victory over Hamline University in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season-opener for both teams on Tuesday evening.

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

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Nick Zuchowski (SR, Wales, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) scored a pair of goals on set pieces -- on a free kick from 25 yards out in the 23rd minute, and on a penalty kick in the 32nd minute.
• Each Zuchowski goal was quickly followed by another Auggie tally. Twenty-two seconds after his free-kick goal, the Auggies took a 2-0 lead as Tomas Piza (SO, Minneapolis, Minn./Hiawatha Collegiate HS) put home a shot on a cross from Jorge Radilla (JR, Roseville, Minn./Roseville HS). 
• Just 2:49 after Zuchowski's penalty-kick goal, the Auggies claimed another score, as Jeffrey Richter (FY, Portland, Ore./La Salle Catholic College Prep HS) scored his first collegiate goal. He finished off a solid three-way passing play from Kebba Janneh (SO, Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) and Mizael Harris (FY, Portland, Ore./La Salle Catholic College Prep HS)
• Augsburg controlled the flow of play throughout the game, only allowing four Hamline shots -- just one in the first half -- and recording a 56-to-44-percent possession advantage. Augsburg outshot Hamline by a 16-4 margin in the game, with 12 shots (seven on-goal) coming in the first half. 
• The Auggies were able to play 24 players in the contest, with 10 different Auggies recording shots. Harris had four shots, while Zuchowski had three shots and Menna had two.
• Oscar Herrera (SO, Madison, Wis./Madison West HS) had one save in goal to record his eighth collegiate shutout.

FOR THE FOES
• Luke Rimington had four saves in goal for Hamline.

QUOTES FROM AUGSBURG HEAD COACH GREG HOLKER
• "We had a 12-minute spell that was just really, really good. We scored goals in different ways and with different players. Z continues to shine in dead-ball moments, and he scored another penalty today after Miz created it. Miz has been so threatening and quick in the box, and his ability to run at players is getting us a lot of penalties."
• "Jeffrey's goal was my favorite, because Miz's early ball to Kebbah was so important and Kebba's action to get it into Jeffrey was sharp and accurate. Jeffrey's finish was really well-taken with a lot of confidence. We've spent some time on those actions this week, so to see it come out was really fun."
• "Tomas continues to show his value in the group with another goal today - that's three games in a row for him. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury from a reckless tackle shortly after his goal. We will see if he can be ready for Saturday. Drew Collins and Jakob Mohrlok were outstanding managing the game and managing a difficult opponent. Hamline committed 19 fouls and were a handful, but those two kept their heads and led with real consistency and control. They've shown real growth since the Central game. It helps that we scored first and had the game in hand, but it is still a step in the right direction."
• "To start the MIAC portion of our season with a strong result is helpful, but there is no break in the difficulty of games as we head into Saturday at Macalester. It is such a balanced and strong league and all the teams can take points from each other. Macalester has been stingy in defense, conceding very few goals so it will be a big challenge to see if we can find a way through them."

UP NEXT
• Augsburg travels to face Macalester in an MIAC contest on Saturday (10/17) at 3:30 p.m.