By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — If Saint Mary's University men's soccer coach Corbin Bowers had any concerns about first-game jitters, his Cardinals quickly put them to rest Friday evening.
 
The Cardinals erupted for three goals in the game's opening 16 minutes and never looked back in rolling to a 5-0 nonconference win over Marian at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
"Our players displayed a fantastic team performance," said Saint Mary's coach Corbin Bowers. "I was very pleased with our organized efforts in defense and the multiple threats we had in attack.

"It's a great start to the season and we cannot wait for the upcoming challenges."

Jacob Clements (Holmen, Wis.) got the Cardinals on the board in the game's seventh minute, taking a feed from Zack Bracken (Osseo, Minn.) and beating Sabres' goalkeeper Cory Koehler for his first collegiate goal.
 
Less than two minutes later, Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.) made it 2-0 with an unassisted tally, and Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) added his first of the season in the 16^th minute — with Bracken again getting the helper — to give the Cardinals a commanding 3-0 lead at the break.
 
And the break did nothing to slow down the high-powered Cardinals, who tacked on two more goals — the first by Balsiger in the 53^rd minute and the other by Cole Van Houten (Pine Island, Minn.) in the 80^th minute — to seal the win.
 
Michael Maniak (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) picked up the shutout in goal, but did not have to do much, as the swarming Cardinal defense did not allow the Sabres a shot attempt. Koehler, meanwhile, finished with five saves in goal for Marian.
 
The Cardinals (1-0-0 overall) are back in action on Wednesday, traveling to Dubuque, Iowa for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against Loras.