Newark, Del. — Head coach Gary Book and the Adelphi men's soccer team opened up their season on Thursday afternoon when they took on Wilmington (Del.) at their annual kickoff tournament.

The game started slow for the Panthers with Wilmington controlling play in the early parts of the first half. This would eventually lead to a Wildcats goal in the 17th minute and the 'Cats saw themselves down for the first time in the young season.

Wilmington would continue its offensive attack but the Adelphi backline held strong and would not concede for the rest of the match. A late first half corner kick for the Panthers would see them gain momentum for the rest of the match

In the 55th minute a free kick from goalkeeper Santiago Arango would send the ball to Alessio Consoli who went on a beautiful run through the middle of the field before passing to a wide open Pablo Herrera on the left wing. Herrera would cut in and beat the Wilmington keeper, tying the game at one goal a piece.

The rest of the game would see both teams with scoring chances but the Panthers still had the edge. In the 88th minute, just as the clock was winding down, Victor Castel exploited the middle of the field, just as Consoli had done on the first goal, and sent a beautiful through ball to Herrera, who took one dribbled and fired the ball into the back of the net to give Adelphi its first victory of the season.

The Panthers outshot the Wildcats 13 to 9 and took four corners compared to their opponent's three.

Arango made three saves on the day.

Gustav Attas and Matthew Murphy both made their collegiate debuts.

Peter Agelis made his Adelphi debut.

The Panthers will return to the pitch on Saturday at 4 p.m. to take on Post University.