After losing his top three scorers to graduation Eastern University Head Coach Brandon Childs knew that he was going to have to bring in talented offensive players. That talent came together this afternoon as the Eastern offense got goals from nine players on the way to an 18-7 MAC win over Misericordia University. Players in their first year with the program scored thirteen of the eighteen goals.

The game did not have the look of a high scoring affair early. Both teams were very deliberate in their attack, and the visiting Cougars fired the first three shots of the game. The Eagles had a couple decent chances early, but they were unable to strike until nearly eleven minutes had passed.

Matt Wagner started the deluge with a strong dodge through a trio of Cougar defenders. Seconds later Zac Ivy doubled the Eastern advantage. The San Diego native, perhaps feeling more comfortable int he 78 degree weather, had a extra spring in his step as he jumped through a pair of Misericordia defenders and dropped a shot down from a high angle. The Eagles buried a pair of goals in the final two minutes of the period. Cal Napolitano buried a Ron Johnson feed at the two minute mark, and Will Johnson scored his first of four with 42 seconds on the clock.

Two minutes into the second, Matt Soldano had time to line up a shot from 20 yards out. The freshman from Maryland found the target with a missile to the top corner. Will Johnson and Napolitano added goals to put the Eagles up 7-0 with eight minutes to play in the half.

The game slowed a bit and the Eastern defense continued to frustrate the Cougar attackers. Aaron Benz made 5 of his eight saves in the first half, but the Eastern defense kept Misericordia off the crease and at tough angles. Soldano closed out the scoring for the half with another strong shot off a Ron Johnson pass.

Eastern held a 23-7 edge in first-half shots and controlled the ball on the ground.

Will Johnson scored his third of the day on the opening face-off of the second half, and he answered Misericordia's first goal with his fourth just three minutes into the second half. Misericordia closed the gap to 11-4 with three straight goals, but Joey Wilmot scored with a minute and a half to play, and Ivy scored his second 40 seconds later. Danny Mayes scored his first career goal on a pass from Ivy with .8 seconds on the clock.

Mayes, David Darling, and sophomore Erik Nelson added fourth quarter goals. Nelson and Mayes scored on strong shots from distance. Darling scored a man-down goal, and Nelson finished the scoring with a strong drive after a Misericordia timeout. Lee Blair picked up his second of the day for the Cougars as time expired. 

Childs was pleased to see his entire roster see the field, and he was happy with his team's offensive execution in stretches. He was, however, already looking forward to another big MAC home game on Tuesday. The Eagles will host DeSales University in a game with significant playoff ramifications.

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