ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - Freshman substitute Naka O'Connor scored once in each half, and the Bard College men's soccer team opened the season with 3-0 victory over SUNY Cobleskill on Friday night.

Bard dominated the first few minutes, and sophomore Alex Meci nearly cashed in off a cross from senior Antonio Scanni in the third minute, but it was just wide. In the seventh minute, though, with the Raptors keeping Cobleskill pinned in its own end, a corner from Meci was headed just inside the near post by senior Isaac Yelchin, and it was 1-0.

The Fighting Tigers responded by taking charge of possession for much of the rest of the first half, though it didn't result in any terrific scoring chances.

In the 36th minute on a counterattack, freshman Max Pickles played a long through ball from midfield to O'Connor, who had entered the game five minutes earlier. A defender got to the ball before O'Connor did, but he slightly overran it, and O'Connor collected it and punched it past Cobleskill keeper Josh Mazur (Terryville, CT) for a 2-0 lead. That was the halftime score.

Neither team dominated possession in the second half, but Bard made it 3-0 in the 70th minute.Off a throw-in, freshman Pat Devine caused an errant pass with some hard work in the corner, and O'Connor collected it just outside the box. His shot from a poor angle deflected off Mazur and in.

Cobleskill outshot Bard, 11-10, and corner were 5-5. Bard's sophomore goalie, Logan Leppo, didn't have to be spectacular, but he did have to be smart, and he was. He finished with four saves. The Raptors got solid work on the defensive end from Sid Subramani, Hunter Davenport, and freshman Zach Pilarski.

The Raptors next head North for a non-league game at SUNY Canton on Sunday. Keep an eye on it with Live Stats or Live Video right here.