Today's Eagle Road match-up between Eastern Men's Soccer and their counterparts from Cabrini had playoff implications for both sides. Eastern used four goals in the last 50 minutes of the match to earn an important PAC win in front of a capacity crowd at Cabrini.

Eastern Head Coach Mark Wagner said of the match, "We had to earn the right to keep the ball by battling for it for the first half hour of the game. The guys played with passion and commitment, and the result is really positive for us." The Cavalier, who entered the match at 15-2 on the year, had several balls in dangerous positions in the opening half hour of the game, but each time, the Eastern back line was up to the task. 

The first decisive moment of the match came in the 43rd moment following a foul near midfield. A long serve to the back post found Taylor VanBrackle's head. The sophomore nodded the ball across the face of the goal toward the endline.Lance Burris saved the ball just before it crossed the line and clipped a ball toward the scoring area where fellow senior Cliff Gehret was ready with a first time shot that beat the keeper to the near post.

The Eagles led 1-0 at the beak, and were beginning to take command of the game. Gehret made his second big play of the night just moments into the second half with a last second tackle on a ball 15 yards out with a Cabrini player facing forward in the center of the goal. Gehret's recovery run on the play was typical of the Eagles defensive work on the night. The host Cavaliers had the ball in dangerous areas several times over the course of the match, but were only able to get a single shot on goal. 

The Eagles doubled their advantage on another restart goal in the 58th minute. This time it was Mike Leitzel who earned the head ball on the back post. The sophomore back out-jumped the Cabrini keeper and nodded a ball back into the scoring zone where Gehret again waited on the ball. The senior midfielder directed the ball at goal, but his shot was blocked by a Cavalier defender. Aaron Tritch sprinted at the bouncing ball and ran it into the net for his sixth goal of the year. Wagner said of the team's first two goals, "We needed both of those, and I am really pleased to see us put away some hard-working goals. It is important for us to see our seniors step up and lead by example in this big game."

Gehret earned his second of the match and the season when he snapped a left-footed volley from 18 yards out into the lower left corner of the goal at the 63 minute mark. Scott Patrick finished the scoring for the Eagles with a breakaway goal in the 88th minute. Patrick timed his run to beat a pressing Cabrini back four and found himself in alone on the keeper. After a nice fake, he dribbled the keeper and placed the ball in the center of the empty net for his third of the year.

The win caps a day that also saw the women beat Cabrini in convincing fashion. With the win, the Eagles position themselves for the second seed in the five-team PAC Playoffs. The Eagles must beat Neumann next Saturday to ensure that seed.