LAURINBURG — The St. Andrews University men’s soccer team dominated Appalachian Athletic Conference rival Point University Saturday, defeating the Skyhawks 4-1 in the Knights’ home opener.

The hosts kicked things off with two goals in a 13-second period — junior midfielder Filipe Checco scored his third goal of the season off an assist from sophomore Guilherme Soares in the 10th minute, then freshman Julio Rico scored off a deep shot from about 30 yards out on an assist from freshman Manuel Posada. It was Rico’s second goal this season.

St. Andrews entered the halftime locker room up 2-0 and continued to put pressure on the Point defense after the break, outshooting the Skyhawks 13-1. The Knights tacked on a third goal in the 53rd minute when senior Aris Tzimas connected for his first goal of the season off an assist from Kazuma Ando.

Soares added St. Andrews’ final score in the 82nd minute off an assist from Manu Escalera.

Senior Marty Phillips led the Knights with five shots (two on goal).

St. Andrews improved to 2-1-1 (1-0 AAC) with its second straight win while Point dropped to 2-3-1 (0-1 in the AAC).

The Knights return to the pitch Tuesday to play Talladega College (0-6) at 4 p.m.

Lady Knights win home opener

LAURINBURG — The St. Andrews University women’s soccer team cruised to a 2-0 shutout win over conference rival Point University Saturday afternoon in the program’s first home game of the season.

It was the Knights’ third straight shutout win to start the year, and they have outscored their opponents 6-0 during that span.

Freshman forward Alex Freesland scored the first goal for the Knights in the 15th minute off a corner kick, then fellow freshman Madaline Castro added another goal in the 30th minute off an assist from sophomore Amanda Hillman. St. Andrews outshot Point 15-0 in the first half and dominated time of possession.

Freshmen goalkeepers Gianna Annichiarico and Liz Garner combined to record the shutout, making two saves.

Castro, Freesland and Nicole Bass led the team with six shots apiece while Freesland had five on goal and Arianna Brown had four. The Knights peppered Point goalie Natalie Brown with 16 second half shots, but she made eight saves to keep her team in the game.

St. Andrews improved to 3-0 (1-0 in the AAC) with the win while the loss dropped Point to 1-5 (0-1 in the AAC).

St. Andrews will continue its three-game homestand Tuesday against Talladega College at 2 p.m.

Staff report