The Denison men's soccer team kicked off the 2012 campaign against the Mount St. Joseph Lions in Granville on Friday night.  After 110 hard-fought minutes, both teams walked away with a season-opening scoreless draw.

The Big Red put the pedal to the metal early on as they generated three shots and six corner kicks in the opening 13:30.  All three attempts happened in succession and came off the foot of sophomore JJ Dix.   DU's first threat of the contest came with just under five minutes to play when junior Blake Miller flicked a head that sailed just over the crossbar.

After a quiet first half, senior captain Ryan Torgersen made his presence known with a pair of quality scoring chances to open the second 45 minute session.  A minute and 20 seconds into the period, the senior lifted a shot over the goal from point blank range.  Roughly four minutes later, Torgersen uncorked a shot that was corralled by Lions keeper Tyler Kenyon.

In the 62nd minute, Bryson Lewis sent a soft shot towards the goal, but sophomore Evan Porter cleared the ball out of harm's way to keep it a scoreless contest.  Despite peppering the MSJ net for the remainder of the period, the Big Red couldn't come up with the season's first tally.

Dix registered a shot in each of the two overtime periods, both of which were stopped by Kenyon.  The Lions lone OT attempt was blocked at close range.

Denison held a commanding 22-10 advantage in shots, with seven reaching the net.  DU also attempted 11 corner kicks compared to just three by the Lions.  Kenyon finished the night with seven saves, while junior keeper Matt Wagner stopped three shots.

Dix paced the offense with six shots, while Torgersen and Bob Casarona each unloaded four attempts.  Nicholas Siko led the Mount St. Joseph attack with three shots.

Both teams move to 0-0-1 on the year after the scoreless tie.  The Big Red returns to action on Sunday when they take on Otterbein University at 2 p.m. in Westerville, Ohio.