Lynchburg, Va. -- Zach Thomas (Audubon, N.J.) corralled the ball off Austin Kues' (High Point, N.C.) header in the 53rd minute and sent it into the back of the net, and the defense dominated from whistle to whistle as Lynchburg College's men's soccer team to a season-opening 1-0 win Friday night over Pfeiffer in the second game of the Shellenberger Classic.

THE RUNDOWN

Final: Lynchburg 1, Pfeiffer 0

Records: Lynchburg 1-0, Pfeiffer 0-1

Venue: Shellenberger Field, Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, Va.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Delayed by an hour because of a passing thunderstorm and playing through consistent rain, the two teams were slow to start.

• Lynchburg dominated the first half, out-shooting the Falcons 13-2 and taking six corner kicks to Pfeiffer's none.

• Pfeiffer keeper Tomas Correa kept the Falcons in the match with seven first-half saves. He stopped 10 of Lynchburg's 11 shots-on-goal.

• Lynchburg finally got ahead in the 53rd minute, when the Hornet offense got the ball centered at the top of the box. Kues deflected the cross, and Thomas was able to one-touch it into the net.

• The Hornets had several chances to add on late, but Pfeiffer's defense blocked close-range shots from Fredy Flores (Alexandria, Va.) and Kues in the last six minutes of play.

LOOKING AHEAD

Lynchburg will remain home for the second day of the Shellenberger Classic when they take on UMass Boston at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 3.