HACKETTSTOWN, N.J.– Eastern University Men's Soccer scored a pair of second half goals to rally to a 2-1 win over the host Centenary University Cyclones. Billy Walenda and Jadon Ramsing scored in the win.

The Eagles had won all nine of the previous meetings between the two schools, but the Cyclones came into the 2017 season with confidence following an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016.

The Eagles controlled play for the first 45 minutes but were unable to find a goal to grab the lead. The Eagles put five of their nine shots on goal and limited Centenary to just one shot on goal.

"We were in their half, but we lacked urgency to score a goal early, " Head Coach Jeremy Payne said after the match. "I think it is tough anytime you give a team life. That is what we did by going into halftime 0-0."

The Eagles gave up a penalty kick in the 54th minute to give the Cyclones a shot at the lead. Justin White put the hosts up 1-0. Payne was disappointed with his team's defensive discipline that led to the penalty kick.

Down a goal, the Eagles recognized the need for urgency in the attack. Jacob Myers moved into the midfield, and the junior standout made an impact in the pace of play almost immediately. Shortly after the move, Myers was able to turn a defender and slip a pass for Walenda in the space behind the Centenary back row. Walenda  slotted home his second of the year to knot the match at 1-1.

The Eagles grabbed the lead int he 82nd minute on a corner kick. Colin Furlong bent in a strong serve and Ramsing finished at the front post.

"It is very fitting." Payne noted. "Jadon is the leader of our team. He was making his first start coming off injury. Big time players score when the team needs it."

Up a goal, the Eagles were able to salt away the game and improve to 5-1 on the year.

"As always Jake Cahill played well," Payne added.  "He was tough in defense and was able to cause problems getting forward. Even though Cade Harmon didn't score, I thought he caused problems. He got fouled a lot and gave us many restart opportunities. It is only a matter of time before he finds the back of the net again. There will be a lot more goals from him this season."

"Good teams need to find a way to win when they don't play their best." Payne concluded. "However, we know that today wasn't good enough. We need to get a lot better. We had a taste of what it looks like, but I think that we are chasing ourselves at this point."

Eastern will host Penn State Abington on Wednesday.