After a weekend of storms, Eastern University Men's Soccer had a beautiful day for their first home game of the year. The Swarthmore College Garnet jumped to a 2-0 lead and held on to beat the Eagles 2-1.

The Garnet, regarded by many as one of the top defensive teams in the region, built a two goal lead and were able to counterattack to out-shoot the Eagles 11-6. Swarthmore started the scoring in the 26th minute. Ladule Lako Lo Sarah finished a sharply cut cross from Morgan Langley, who had fought his way through several tackles on the right side of the field. After the goal, the visitors began to gain control of possession and held a 1-0 lead at the break.

The first lacked rhythm and flow, and was full of physical play. Eastern came out of the locker room for the second half with renewed intensity, but just over five minutes into the frame a foul in the box gave Swarthmore a golden chance to double their lead. Dylan Langley calmly deposited the penalty kick for a 2-0 lead. Eastern Head Coach Mark Wagner acknowledged this as a turning point in the game saying, "Swarthmore is a very organized team that defends very well, and no matter what we threw at them they were going to get numbers behind the ball."

Late in the half that the home side turned up the pressure and was able to scrap for a Terry Fry goal on a corner kick, but the Eastern pressure was not enough in the end, and Swarthmore held on for the win. The Garnet improve to 3-0-1 on the year, while Eastern dropped to 2-3.

The Eagles return to action on Saturday against local rival Cabrini College on Olson field at 1 PM.  

Box Score