SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Sierra Nevada kicked off the 2017 season with a strong victory, upending conference opponent San Jose State by a score of 23-4 on Saturday afternoon.

Eagles midfielder Nick Southron paced the offense with five goals and an assist while attackmen Jake Caliguire and Kyle Sperzel each added a hat trick. In all, 12 different players found the back of the net for Sierra Nevada.

Strong defensive play by SNC kept San Jose State to just four goals, blanking the Spartans for two quarters. Midfielders Todd Grimm, Jason Rivas and Quinn Nicodemus combined to dominate the faceoff 'X' all afternoon, giving the Eagles a sizable time of possession advantage.

"It's always good to open up the season 1-0," said Sierra Nevada coach Matt Blamey. "The fact that it was a conference game makes the victory even sweeter. For our first time out, we did a lot of things well. We also made a lot of mistakes. I'd say that's typical in early season games. We've got to polish a lot on both ends of the field in order to achieve our goals in 2017."

The Eagles will face No. 17 UC Davis in another WCLL matchup this Saturday, Feb. 18. Faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.