Goshen, IN — Less than a week ago, the two-season old scoreboard at the Goshen College Soccer Complex was struck by lightning. Despite sitting next to a towering light pole, the scoreboard suffered a direct hit, leaving its LED displays a mangled mess of melted plastic and inactive bulbs.

It was an ominous sign of things to come.

Goshen officially opened its 2006 campaign Tuesday night hosting Judson College, suffering a salty, 6-0 defeat in what was the first intercollegiate athletic event of the new school year for the institution. Starting five freshmen, the Leafs appeared shell-shocked at the start, giving up the first goal to the Lady Eagles just 47 seconds into play, its second just seven minutes later and its third with 22:17 remaining in the first half. After a brief hiatus, Judson was at it again, tacking on scores at the 18:11 and 16:13 marks.

By the time head coach Thavisith Mounsithiraj’s squad collected itself, it was staring directly at a 5-0 deficit.

“Judson is a very good team that didn’t allow us any space and time to play tonight,” Mounsithiraj said following the game’s conclusion. “They just overwhelmed us with their speed, skill and size. We looked completely lost out there in the first half.”

The visitors used collective strength and speed up front to thwart any initial defensive efforts from Goshen (0-1, 0-0), as the Lady Eagles’ first score was a wide-open, 30-yard blast that sneaked past sophomore keeper Emmy Gibson’s (two saves) outstretched gloves. After a costly communication error in the Leafs’ backfield allowed Judson an easy second goal, the Lady Eagles placed a beautiful corner kick into the box which was headed into the back of the net with little defensive resistance at the game’s 67th minute-mark.

Carbon copies of Judson’s first score came later in the first period, as the visiting squad continued pressure up front resulting in another pair of open looks that were cashed into the goal.

A frustrated team and Mounsithiraj knew it had aided Judson’s apparent first-half immortality.

“Coming in, we knew Judson was a very strong team,” Mounsithiraj said. “I believe our nerves may have played a role in our inability to organize ourselves and play a more physical game. We allowed four goals from the top of the 18 (-yard box) without any challenges. We were very tentative in our approach to the game. We were unable to make any transition from the midfield to the front as we kept turning the ball over.”

Changes at halftime helped Goshen return to some sense of form, as Mounsithiraj inserted sophomore Amy Clem (five saves) in goal and moved Gibson up front. Junior Sara Groff assumed her traditional role of stopper while freshman Liz Nafziger was switched from a defensive position to an offensive slot. The results were significantly better, as the Leafs finally chewed some time with the ball on Judson’s half of the field and gave up just one score — the Lady Eagles scored a nifty goal with just 4:11 remaining to make the final 6-0.

Clem, who came in off the bench first as a defensive back and then as keeper, earned praise from Mounsithiraj for her aggressive and physical play.

“Amy Clem came in and was not afraid to mix it up physically with Judson,” Mounsithiraj said. “This match has definitely demonstrated to the team the areas that we need to improve on and learn to play for 90 minutes. I believe our best soccer is still ahead of us.”

Goshen will not have long to dwell on the season-opening loss, as the team will travel to central Michigan for a match at Concordia University on Thursday. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.