The Emmanuel College men’s soccer team kicked off its 2006campaign with a 2-1 victory over Mount Ida College this evening at the Boston English Soccer Field.

Senior goalkeeper Vedran Vukovic (Chelsea, Mass./Chelsea) came up with seven saves to preserve the victory for the Saints.

Both teams went scoreless until midway through the first half, when freshman Michael Evans (Yarmouth, Maine/Yarmouth) scored off a feed from sophomore Christopher Clark (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet Regional) to give the hosts a 1-0 advantage.

Evans struck again in the second half, as he set up sophomore Cameron O’Hala (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern) for the eventual match-winner in the 66th minute. Freshman Chris Meuer (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) tallied his first collegiate goal for Mount Ida in the 76th minute, when he headed in a corner kick pass from classmate Graham Perrault (Shelbourne, Vt./Bridgton Academy).

It was not enough though, as the Saints held on for the final 15 minutes to seal things. Sophomore netminder Brian Leighton (Turner, Maine/Leavitt Area) stopped one shot for the Mustangs, who outshot Emmanuel 15-7 in the contest.

Mount Ida (0-1, 0-0 NAC) welcomes non-conference foe Curry College for its home opener on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Emmanuel (1-0, 0-0 GNAC) returns to action on Tuesday, as it plays its second of three straight home matches versus out-of-league opponent Eastern Nazarene College beginning at 8:00 p.m.