Carlo Basso opened Simon Fraser University's men's soccer season with a near-record outing.
Basso scored five goals, including four in a row in the opening 27 minutes of play in SFU's home opener, to lead the varsity Clan to a 6-0 victory over Thompson Rivers University on Saturday.
Basso's career high was just one goal shy of of the program's all-time record of six set by Burnaby's Rob Cirjak in 1988 and matched in 2009 by Alex Hanne.
Alex Rowley also tallied in the one-sided match, scoring his first goal with the Clan in the 72nd minute.
A day later, SFU upped its early season record to 2-0, blanking Vancouver Island University 3-0 at Terry Fox field.
Jovan Blagojevic led SFU with a pair of goals, while Justin Wallace picked up the Clan's third score.
Senior goalkeeper Hide Ozawa recorded the Clan's second straight shutout in non-conference matchups, stopping all four shots fired his way.
SFU is at home this weekend for two more exhibition matches.
The Clan will host Azusa Pacific on Friday and Hawaii Pacific on Sunday. Both games are at Terry Fox pitch and scheduled for 7: 30 p.m.
The women's Clan were not as fortunate, dropping its home opener 3-0 on Saturday to Cal-State Stanislaus, the 25th-ranked team in NCAA Division II.
The SFU women are back in action at home on Saturday against the Academy of Art at 7 p.m.
