DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The fifth-ranked Embry-Riddle men's soccer team, led by four points from Michael Donald, opened the 2010 season with a 6-1 defeat of Walsh, Friday at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium.  Donald finished with a goal and two assists as the Eagles handed the Cavaliers (2-1) their first loss of the year.

The Eagles scored early in the first half on a combination play that started just outside the 18 yard box. Ryan Maloney completed a pass to Sam Litchfield who played Donald in behind the defense. Donald beat Walsh keeper, Michael Kennedy, to the lower right corner to put the Eagles up 1-0 just under five minutes into the match.

The Eagles' second goal was the result of strong passing that picked apart the Cavalier defense. Litchfield received the ball deep in the right corner and after eluding his defender, he lifted a ball into the box and it was met by Ryan Woods, who placed a shot into the upper netting to give the Blue and Gold a 2-0 advantage with 29 minutes remaining in the first half.

Woods got his first assist of the year on the Eagles' third goal when he won the ball in the Eagles' defensive half and played a perfect ball through to Ryan Maloney on the run. Maloney won the one-vs.-one battle against the goalkeeper a slotted home his first goal of the year to make the score 3-0 in favor of ERAU.

The Cavaliers ' best chance of the half came in the 28th minute George Moga slipped in behind the Eagle defense and got a shot off inside the box. ERAU's Kile Kennedy was up to the challenge and his quick reaction allowed him to clear the ball out of danger and preserve the Eagles' 3-0 advantage heading into the break.

Although the Eagles had the momentum going into the half time break, it was the Cavaliers who came out with more intensity to start the second as their leading scorer, Ben Truax picked off an errant Eagle pass and slotted home his third goal of the season to put Walsh on the board.

The remainder of the second half was marked by end-to-end action. Walsh took advantage of a few Eagle lapses on the defensive end to create more opportunities, but they were unable to find the net and cut into the Eagle lead.

The final three minutes of play were marked by a flurry of activity on offense for the Eagles. Donald got his first assist of the night after swinging a corner kick into the box that was headed home by Alexis Pradie. Less than two minutes later, Aaron Applebee, who entered the game in the 73rd minute, slotted a pass through to Matthias Klatt on the run. Klatt used his strength to fend off a defender and took the ball into score his first goal of the year at the 89:13 mark.

A scant 36 seconds later, Applebee was involved in the attack again. This time he used his speed to get away from the Cavalier defense and finished Donald's pass for the first goal of his collegiate career.

The Eagles' next game will be at 7 p.m. on Friday when they host Bethel (Tenn.) at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium.