A four-goal first half was all Dowagiac needed to make its home opener a success Monday night against visiting Edwardsburg.

Craig Zebell scored a pair of first half goals, including one on a penalty kick, as the Chieftains rolled to a 6-1 non-conference victory over the Eddies.

Hazen McMeeken got Dowagiac on the scoreboard early as he tallied less than five minutes into the match. Zebell ripped a shot into the upper right-hand corner with 17:25 showing on the clock go make it a 2-0 lead for the Chieftains.

Just over seven minutes later, Travis True extended the Dowagiac advantage to 3-0 with a goal with 10:10 showing on the scoreboard.

Zebell, who ended the night with a hat trick, was taken down in the box with just 3:20 left in the opening half and beat Edwardsburg keeper Ryan Mahaney to make it 4-0.

Dowagiac keeper Paul Lamphere, playing his first varsity match, made an outstanding sliding save to keep the Eddies off the scoreboard with just 20 ticks left on the first half clock.

The Chieftains notched the first goal of the second half, while a penalty kick sandwiched between a pair of second half Dowagiac goals by Edwardsburg’s Evan VanBelle on a penalty kick averted a shut out for Edwardsburg.

Zebell picked up his third goal with 16:30 left in the second half and Leo Ramirez completed the scoring with a goal with 4:58 remaining in the contest.

Dowagiac used its quickness against the Eddies to gain the advantage on several of his scoring opportunities.

“Yeah, we’re quick,” Dowagiac coach Mike Williams answered. “We’re not big except on defense, but we can move the ball well. We didn’t play as well as we are capable of tonight. We are a much better team than we showed. Despite a lack of subs, our starters are solid from front to back.

Our defense was pretty solid. We made a couple of errors. Winning balls in the first half we did not do very well. In the second half we were much better. Paul did real well especially since it is his first game of the year. He made the right decisions every time which is huge for him.”

Edwardsburg coach Ryan Rozenkranz is looking for a way to generate some offense for his team. He likes the way his squad plays in many facets of the game, but finding the back of the net is not one of them.

“We are struggling with that right now as far as putting balls in the back of the net,” he said. “Thankfully it’s early in the season and we can work some things out and do a few things in practice that will make us more successful in games.

“It’s been kind of a roller coaster ride so far. Just look at the two halves. We have been up and down and tonight we played much better in the second half. We played with a bit more attitude in the second half. First half we came out flat. We are not good enough to just show up. We have to play hard for 80 minutes.”

Edwardsburg…1

Dowagiac…6

Halftime score

Dowagiac 4, Edwardsburg 0

First half

D – Hazen McMeeken 35:16

D – Craig Zebell 17:25

D – Travis True 10:10

D – Zebell 3:20 penalty kick

Second half

D – Zebell 16:30

E – Evan VanBelle 15:52 penalty kick

D – Leo Ramirez 4:58

Shots on goal

Edwardsburg 18

Dowagiac 30

Saves

Edwardsburg 8 (Ryan Mahaney)

Dowagiac 8 Paul Lamphere