The Washington soccer team struggled to score goals in the season opener last Friday, but that wasn’t the case for the Pam Pack yesterday as it scored three goals in the opening 13 minutes on the way to a 5-2 win over J.H. Rose.

“I’m very happy with the way they played. Coming off of Friday’s game last week, not to be repetitive, but we obviously didn’t score any goals,” Washington head coach Jim Kozuch said. “So, coming out here and playing a team like Rose and putting up five on the board, it’s great for us.”

Rose (2-1-1) actually started the game strongly, threatening to score in the early moments of the game. But Washington (2-1) held off the Rampants and used its quick and athletic forwards to pressure Rose’s defenders, leading to a flurry of goals for the Pam Pack.

Washington’s early barrage of goals was capped off by sophomore forward Seth Davis, who put the finishing touch on a swift counterattack. The play began with Rose turning over the ball in Washington’s end of the field and the Pam Pack quickly playing the ball to forward Elvin Elizalde at midfield. The senior sprinted down the left flank, dribbling past a Rose defender before centering the ball to a streaking Davis, who managed to beat his defender and the onrushing goalkeeper to the ball and hit it with his first touch into the gaping net.

“Our forwards are pretty quick, and today I think our forwards put a lot of pressure on their defense and that created a lot of opportunities for us,” Kozuch said. “We scored a couple quick ones. I think we kind of caught them off guard and just kept applying the pressure and fortunate to come out with that nice lead.”

Joining Davis on the score sheet were Cody Pinkham, Tim Anglim and Mike Reid, who scored twice.

The Pam Pack jumped out to a commanding three-goal lead, but it didn’t cause the Rampants to drop their heads, as they continued to push forward, creating several chances to score themselves. Rose nearly scored with 15 minutes left in the first half, but Washington keeper Spencer Worley made a diving save to his left, palming away a shot from a header. Ten minutes later, Rose almost got on the scoreboard, but Michael Valverde’s shot from 30 yards out hit the inside of Worley’s right-hand post, rolled across the goalmouth and was cleared by the Pam Pack defense.

Rose finally got a goal in the final seconds of the half after a ball was kicked at Washington defender Henry Jennings at point-blank range in the box, and the referee decided to give the Rampants a penalty kick. Valverde converted the spot kick, making the score 3-1 at halftime.

In last year’s matchup, the Pam Pack held a two-goal advantage at the break, but went on to lose 4-2. Kozuch made sure to bring up the past during his halftime talk to his players.

“I just wanted to bring back the past and remind them that the game is not over,” Kozuch said. “At any time, we can give up goals, so we just got to keep the pressure and get the first goal of the half, which fortunately enough we did.”

After scoring two goals in the second half to take a 5-1 lead, the Pam Pack coasted the rest of the way. Rose managed to get a second goal with four minutes remaining, thanks to a Valverde free kick from 30 yards out that curled into the top-right corner of the goal, hitting both the crossbar and post before flying into the net.

Washington will have a week off and return to action with an away game at New Bern.