Bethlehem, Pa. - Sophomore Maid Memic scored in the 40th minute and junior Chris Griebsch added an assist and then a penalty-kick goal in the second half to lead the Hofstra men's soccer team to a season-opening 2-0 victory over Lehigh on Saturday afternoon at Ulrich Sports Complex.

Hofstra won on Opening Day for the first time since 2009. Junior goalkeeper Roberto Pellegrini (Monte Porzio Catone, Italy) stopped the only shot-on-net faced to tally his ninth career shutout. The Pride handed the Mountain Hawks (0-1) their first home defeat since Nov. 6, 2010, snapping an eight-game unbeaten streak.

Memic (Kozarac, Bosnia) needed less than a half to match his freshman goal output of 2011. Griebsch (Dessau-Rosslau, Germany) sent a cross to Memic on the right side, setting up his goal from 20 yards out to give Hofstra the lead 39:38 into the contest. That marked Memic's second career goal after he scored one in 15 games last year.

Griebsch provided a key insurance goal early in the second half. Hofstra was able to push the ball past Lehigh's backline, resulting in a foul called on the Mountain Hawks inside the box. Griebsch converted the subsequent penalty kick for a 2-0 Hofstra edge.

Griebsch's assist on Memic's goal continued a trend from 2011. The midfielder/forward led the Colonial Athletic Association in assists with 10 and was a third-team All-CAA selection last year. Griebsch scored on Hofstra's lone penalty kick attempt in the previous campaign and has already matched that in 2012 when his one-on-one shot beat Lehigh keeper Ciaran Nugent at 60:43.

The Pride's stingy defense prevented little from getting through to Pellegrini. Thanks to a defense led by junior Shaun Foster (Southport, England), junior Tyler Botte (North Babylon, N.Y.) and senior Thomas Bekas (Bay Shore, N.Y.), Hofstra did not allow a single shot on goal in the opening half and just three wide shots total through the first 45 minutes. The defensive trio all played 90 minutes.

Hofstra also maintained offensive pressure, putting eight shots on target (Nugent finished with six saves). Senior Mike Annarumma (Massapequa, N.Y.) tested Nugent the most, finishing with a team-high three shots.

Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall used a short bench in the first game of his 24th season at the helm. Only three reserves saw action off the bench, though sophomore Ellev Sandtroen (Tynest, Norway) logged 24 minutes in Hofstra debut.  Sophomore Heidar Emilsson (Gardabaer, Iceland) played 26 minutes and senior defender A.J. Laza (Corman, N.Y.) also saw playing time.

The Pride will next be in action on Thursday when the team hosts St. Francis (N.Y.) at 7 p.m. from Hofstra Soccer Stadium.