MORROW, Ga. - The Anderson University men's soccer team bounced back from its' season-opening setback with a vengeance, blanking USC Aiken, 6-0, Saturday evening at Clayton State's Laker Shootout at Laker Field.

Anderson (1-1) scored three goals in each half, as senior midfielder Ryan Messick and junior forward Clement Samson each notched a pair of goals to help propel the Trojans to their largest offensive outing since scoring eight goals in the win past Brevard last October.

USC Aiken slipped to 1-1 on the season after defeating Pfeiffer in Friday's opening round action.

Both teams entered the contest boasting veteran lineups, each with nine starters returning from last season. Four different Trojans scored in the win, as Lasse Sohrweide and Daniel Bowers each posted scores, with Messick adding an assist.

AU threatened early, garnering four shots inside the first eight minutes of action, then posted a flurry of three goals in a seven-minute span. Samson scored his second goal in as many matches when Messick found him in the middle of the pitch for the score at the 19:18 mark.

Messick recorded his first score off a free kick in the 27th minute and added another goal less than three minutes later off an assist from Sohrweide.

Samson put the match out of reach by garnering his second goal when he took a cross from Kevin Butler and found the back of the net with just less than five minutes gone in the second half. Sohrweide increased AU's advantage to 5-0 at 76:44 after swiping the ball and scoring from 30 yards out.

Bowers, a senior from Summerville, S.C., closed out the scoring by taking advantage of freshman William Treichler's cross into the box.

Anderson recorded nine more shots than the Pacers, at 19-10, while USC Aiken held a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks.

Anderson continues its season opening four-match road swing when the Trojans travel to Boca Raton, Fla. for the two-day Lynn University Tournament on Sept. 9-10. AU will face Palm Beach Atlantic at 2 p.m. on Friday, then square off against the host Fighting Knights at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.