WASHINGTON, D.C. – A joyous celebration took place as the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard Monday night as the Gallaudet University men's soccer team reveled in a 1-0 win over visiting Christendom College before a boisterous crowd of 400 at Hotchkiss Field. The Bison won their season and home opener for the first time in a decade and posted a shutout in the process.

Gallaudet (1-0) last won a season debut on August 30, 2003, with a 2-1 victory on the road against Lycoming College. That same season the Bison won its home opener, 5-0, against Washington Bible on Sept. 10. GU experienced one of its most successful men's soccer seasons in recent memory in 2003 with a 6-12-1 record.

"Obviously, we are very excited. We are not used to this," said Gallaudet coach Luis Gendive. "This group is carrying its experience gained at the end of last year into this season. Hopefully, we will be able to see the same crowd on Thursday night. It was great to see the stands full."

The two teams battled through a scoreless first half as Gallaudet held a slight 9-7 advantage on shots at the intermission.

Freshman Said Lakrik (Washington, D.C.) got the Bison on the board with a free kick goal from 40 yards out, two minutes into the second half. Lakrik blasted a hard shot into the upper left corner of the net past a diving Dan Mitchell (four saves), Christendom's goalie, as the crowd erupted into cheers. The goal was the first of the season for Gallaudet and the first goal for Lakrik as a Bison.

Christendom (1-1) went on the attack minutes later but got unlucky with one shot hitting the crossbar and another slow dribbler glancing off the left post. The Crusaders had three scoring opportunities in the game miss the back of the net by inches. Christendom started its season with an 11-1 win over Davis College, a Christian school like Christendom. Both schools are not NCAA members.

Sophomore goalie Eric Setzer (Middletown, Md.) earned his third collegiate win and first shutout as he stopped seven shots.

Gallaudet posted a shutout for the first time since a historical 1-0 win took place on Oct. 2, 2010, when the Bison defeated SUNY Cobleskill to end a 63-game losing streak. The previous shutout was a 1-0 win over Southern Virginia on Oct. 21, 2006, the last win before the long losing streak.

Christendom freshman forward Sean Salmon led the Crusaders with six shots, four on goal. The Crusaders also doubled Gallaudet on corner kick opportunities, 12-6.

This is the first win against Christendom since 2002 when the Bison won 5-2 on Sept. 21. The teams have met six times since 2009 before a seven-year gap was established from '02-'09.

Gallaudet will host Valley Forge Christian College on Thursday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. in another non-conference game at Hotchkiss Field.