The men's soccer team kicked off its season with a bang, as they recorded two shutouts in the Adidas Kick-Off Classic at Wheaton College last weekend. The Judges defeated Curry College 4-0 last Sunday after defeating University of Rutgers-Camden 2-0 the day before.The team was led by midfielder Joe Eisenbies '13, who netted the game winner in both games. Against Curry, Eisenbies put the Judges ahead for good just 4 minutes, 48 seconds into the game when he collected a pass from midfielder Ben Applefield '14 and deposited it in the back of the net from just outside the penalty hash mark.

Eisenbies had another opportunity in the second half but his shot deflected off the crossbar.

While Eisenbies started every game last season, he did not score any goals during his rookie season with the team.

"Last year [Eisenbies] was more of a distributor and played a little deeper, but we've got him further up this season," said coach Michael Coven. "He's been great offensively. Even in practice, he's just been cracking it."

The Judges grabbed an insurance goal in the 28th minute, when midfielder/forward Lee Russo '13 collected goalie Taylor Bracken's '11 kickoff and beat two Curry defenders on his own. Russo finished the game with a team-high five shots.

The team's third goal came in the 65th minute, as Applefield added a goal to his first-half assist after a long carry down the left-hand side of the field.

Midfielder Luke Teece '12 closed out the team's scoring with just 3:45 remaining in the game. It was Teece's second goal in as many days after scoring just once in his first two seasons.

"[Teece] is pure speed and athleticism," Coven said. "When he has it in an open space and goes for goal, nobody is going to stop him."

Bracken stopped all five shots he faced in the win over Curry.

Against Rutgers-Camden, Eisenbies opened the scoring in the 13th minute. The sophomore took a pass from midfielder Steve Keuchkarian '11 and drilled it in on the right hand side of the net.

Teece's goal against the Raptors came in the 67th minute, and also came on a long solo run.

"[Teece's] goal against Rutgers-Camden just broke them," Coven said.

Both of the team's shutouts were credited to Bracken, who won the starting goalkeeper job over last year's starter, Matt Lynch '11. Both Bracken and Lynch have spent time this fall working with goalie coach Tim Murray, a backup on Major League Soccer's New England Revolution, but Coven said that, at least for now, "We felt more comfortable with Bracken."

Teece noted the difficult decision of which goalie to start for the duration of the season.

"It's a bit of a toss-up between the two," Teece said. "[Bracken] has been around for longer and is very experienced, but each brings something to the table, and each is going to get time based on what we need from the goalie."

Lynch did see playing time in the second half against Curry, and Coven reiterated that he played "very well" in the time he saw.

Coven expressed cautious optimism about how the team has looked thus far in the season. While he noted that it was a marked improvement over the team's performance at the Adidas Kick-Off Classic last season, at which the team earned a 1-1 draw against Rutgers University-Newark and a 2-0 loss against University of Southern Maine, he said that there were still spots where the team had to improve.

"We need to keep moving the ball better through the central mid[field] rather than playing so directly and just launching the ball upfield," he said. "We also need to work on our composure in the box. Still, we played very well defensively as a team, and a win is a win."

The squad's home opener is Saturday, where it will take on Clark University at 6 p.m.