SEGUIN â€" Every coach would like to kick off a season by scoring multiple goals and coming away with a clean sheet on the other side. That's exactly what the Texas Lutheran men's soccer team did on Saturday afternoon, opening its campaign with a 3-0 shutout of Howard Payne at Gustafson Field.
 
The Bulldogs received goals from Isaac Lopez, Tim Schaffer and Alejandro Martinez on the afternoon, with all three scores coming in the game's first 47 minutes.
 
Lopez (Round Rock, Texas), a junior and All-SCAC player last year, scored the season's first goal just over 11 minutes into action. The score came off a nice pass from freshman David Ching (Keller, Texas), who cut back a pass into the box for Lopez to finish towards the near-post.
 
As the first-half clock crept closer to zeroes, the Bulldogs got another goal to give them the always-crucial two-goal advantage. Schaffer (New Braunfels, Texas), a junior, took a pass from Victor Manzaba and dribbled towards the top of the box. He ripped a screaming shot into the upper-right corner to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead in the 40th minute.
 
Martinez (Round Rock, Texas) put TLU up by the comfortable three-goal margin in just the 47th minute, 70 seconds into second-half play. The assist came courtesy of Lopez.
 
Goalkeeper Jonathan Michael got the start and the win, though he can thank his defense for holding Howard Payne without a shot during his 82 minutes of action. Senior Ian Parker came in to finish out the final eight minutes, making four saves during that time.
 
The game was dominated by the Bulldogs as they outshot the Yellow Jackets 23-7 and notched 13 shots on goal compared to four for Howard Payne.
 
Texas Lutheran will get to continue to enjoy the comforts of home as it plays host to Concordia Texas on Labor Day. Things are set to kick off at 4 p.m., but play will follow the conclusion of the TLU women's soccer game against the Tornados. Live video and live stats will be available via tlubulldogs.com.