WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's soccer coach Pete Watkins was hoping his Cardinals would get off to a quick start in their season-opener against Viterbo.
 
And the Cardinals took their head coach literally—scoring less than two minutes into the opening period.
 
The quick-striking Cardinals scored a pair of goals in the first half—both collegiate firsts—and Saint Mary's never looked back in handing Viterbo a 5-0 nonconference setback at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
Sean Butcher (Cave Creek, Ariz.) did not waste any time getting his first goal as a Cardinal, scoring at 1:40 of the opening half, and Chris Trussel (Wenatchee, Wash.) would push the Saint Mary's lead to 2-0 with his first collegiate goal in the game's 34th minute.
 
As good as the Cardinals were in the opening half, they were equally as dominant in the game's final 45 minutes—scoring three goals in an eight-minute span—as Jim Dreshar (Hugo, Minn.) and Jared Wolt (Farmington, Minn.), and Carlos Hernandez (Cicero, Ill.) all found the back of the net in icing the lopsided victory.
 
Evan Claffy (Joliet, Ill.) collected his second collegiate shutout in goal for the Cardinals, stopping all three Viterbo shots he faced.
 
The Cardinals (1-0-0) are back on their home turf on Friday, hosting Cornell in a 7 p.m. nonconference game.