Thursday's season opener was the start to the 2023 campaign that Bear Soccer Head Coach Zach Mills and his team had hoped for as they got four goals from four different players in a 4-0 win over visiting Tougaloo.
 
"We were able to get everyone in and that is important, trying to figure out where everybody is going to fit throughout the season," Mills said.
 
It didn't take long for the Bears (1-0) to light up their side of the scoreboard first as Justin Ruiz took advantage of a key opportunity to give his team the early advantage.
 
"I saw the ball come to me and saw that the defender didn't come out," he said. "I saw the opportunity, took him on and saw the box open and took my chances."
 
Ruiz's score came in the 16^th minute and it came at a key time as the Bears were looking for a way to set the tone in the early stages of the contest. Roberto Garcia was credited with the assist on the goal.
 
Riding that momentum from Ruiz's score, Southwest added to its lead a little less than nine minutes later when Caleb Trisdale got a great pass from Sammy Velazquez resulting in the Bears' second goal of the night.
 
Leading 2-0 late in the first half, the Bears kept pouring it on as Rory Humphrey got into the act with a goal following an assist from Ruiz.
 
The lone goal of the second half came in the 50^th minute when Ethan Gobble kept pace with teammate Brayden Green on a fast break. Green's shot was deflected by the Bulldog goalkepper and cleaned up nicely by Gobble who finished off the play with the score.
 
The Southwest defense held true for the remainder of the contest as Tougaloo was unable to get into rhythm on offense sealing the win for the hosts.
 
The Bears have a quick turnaround as they will travel to Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday to face Oxford of Emory at 3:00 p.m.