FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Colorado State (1-0) hosted Dominican (0-4) on Sunday night in the Rams’s first game of the 2017 season and the home team was able to post a convincing, 18-7 victory thanks in part to a monster evening from senior attackman Ashton Monheiser.

Colorado State opened the scoring 2:38 into the game when Monheiser capitalized on an errant pass and posted the first of his nine points (5g, 4a) on the day. The point total was a career high for Monheiser and set the tone for the Rams offense.

While Monheiser was the star, several other CSU players notched multiple points in the game. Sophomore attackman Blake Warner (3g) and junior midfielder Collin Zines (2g, 1a) added three points a piece, while attackers Dom Santor (2g) and Grant Alfred (1g, 1a) each chimed in with two points of their own.

The Ram’s offense was dominant throughout, as 15 different players tallied points on the day. While the offense was clicking, the defense held down the fort.

The Ram’s pace of play opened up some opportunities for the Penguins, but the defense was able to stifle the majority of their offensive opportunities. This was particularly true in the second half when the defense allowed only two goals after letting up five in the first. Most impressively, the Rams man-down unit was a perfect 5-for-5 on the day.

A couple of defensive standouts for the Rams were sophomore defender Nick Pfeiffer and junior defensive midfielder Michael Seaman. Pfeiffer made his first start for the Rams on Sunday and played exceptionally well. He did not allow a goal and he excelled in creating transition opportunities for the Rams. Seaman picked up where he left off in 2016 by demonstrating his speed and toughness. He put in an ironman shift due to a depleted bench of defensive midfielders, scored a fastbreak goal and earned the game ball from his teammates.

Despite starting the season with a win, the Rams know the real challenge awaits. CSU will travel down to Phoenix, AZ this weekend for marquee match-ups against Arizona State (1-2) and Grand Canyon (0-0).