In a division marked by parity and a physical brand of soccer, victories are not easy to come by. The Toll Gate boys’ soccer team knows that well. It won the Division II championship last year – after winning just over half of its regular-season games.

That’s why the defending champs were happy to start 2014 with a victory, even if it wasn’t perfect. Josh Sandin scored four goals and the Titans held off a late charge from Smithfield to win their season opener 5-3 on Tuesday night at the Bend Street Soccer Complex.

“Even with a good team, it’s hard to get wins in this division,” said Toll Gate head coach Tim Hayes. “You saw it tonight. We thought we had it salted away at 5-1 and then it’s 5-3 and we’re holding on. So I’m happy. We’ll take wins any way we can get them.”

The Titans, coming off the program’s first championship since 1991, won the Warwick Vets Fall Soccer Tournament last week and wasted no time taking control on Tuesday. Sandin scored on an assist from Andy Falso in the third minute of the game. After a Smithfield goal eight minutes later, Alex Beltran put Toll Gate back front. Sandin added three goals in the second half before Smithfield made its late push.

“Offensively, I think we did a lot of things we wanted to do and we did them pretty well,” Hayes said. “Defensively we gave up way too many opportunities. We played really well in spurts, but just a couple of times, we broke down. We really got exposed. Just things we need to work on. We can’t count on five goals every night.”

On this night, the offensive outburst made the defensive ills a moot point.

Sandin, an All-Stater last year and one of the division’s top returning players, got things started when he dribbled through three defenders from the wing to create an opportunity. He didn’t waste it, as he gave the Titans the 1-0 lead in the third minute.

“Josh caught them early,” Hayes said. “They all know what he’s going to do, but when you see his speed and power for the first time, it kind of takes you by surprise. He stopped on the sideline, and all of a sudden, he’s going right through three guys and they’re chasing. He has the ability to do that, which helps cover up some mistakes.”

Smithfield answered in the 11th minute on a high-arcing shot from 30 yards out that flew just over the out-stretched hand of Toll Gate goalie Kyle Brown and just under the cross-bar.

But in the 25th minute, Toll Gate took a lead it would never lose. Off a throw-in, Sandin powered his way through a double-team to the post and threaded a pass to Beltran in the middle of the box. He buried a shot to make it 2-1.

Smithfield threatened several times over the final 15 minutes of the first half, but Brown made some key saves. When one ball got past him and was on its way to the goal, defender Kyle McGuire cleared it just before it got there.

In the second half, the Titans pulled away. Sandin scored three goals in the first 20 minutes of the half. He tallied an unassisted goal in the 42nd minute, scored off an assist from Manny Pickering in the 47th and put one in with help from Falso in the 60th.

“Defensively, it’s going to be a work in progress,” Hayes said. “Midfield, they’re all in new positions. But we can always hit the ball up the field to Josh and he can help us out when we don’t deserve it.”

With the four-goal lead, the Titans got a little wobbly in the final 20 minutes as Smithfield scored twice to make it 5-3. The Titans had several chances to score themselves, but that might have been part of the problem.

“Second half, I thought we wore down a little bit and we got a little too stretched out,” Hayes said. “I think we were a little too eager to score at times and we were forgetting the responsibilities behind us. It’s something we have to work on.”

The Toll Gate defense is led by returning players McGuire, James Meizoso and Andrew Rocchio, with freshman Connor Haley joining them. The unit should develop into a strength, but things are still jelling for now.

“Defensively, we have to stay organized,” Hayes said. “I think we have enough offense where we can score. We just have to stop people. If we give up three goals a game, we’re going to lose more than we win.”

On this night, it was the right formula for a win.

The Titans will try for another victory today when they visit Narragansett at 3:45 p.m. They’ll play a non-league game against Division I Central Falls on Monday.