ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Soccer remained unbeaten in the MAC Freedom with a convincing 5-1 homecoming win over the visiting Wilkes University Colonels. The Eagles scored all five goals playing a man up.

How It Happened:
The critical moment of the match came in the 29th minute. Colin Furlong played a ball into an attacking pocket where Bryce Wahinya slipped a pass behind the WIlkes defense. Cade Harmon beat the Wilkes goalkeeper to the ball outside the box. The goalkeeper made a desperate lunge for the ball but missed and upended Harmon outside the box. Eastern got a free kick at the top of the box and the Wilkes goalkeeper was sent off for a foul preventing an obvious goal scoring chance. The Eagles missed the free kick but would play 11 against 10 for the rest of the afternoon.

The extra numbers forced the Colonels to stretch their back line further and the Eagles took advantage. Harmon headed a Jared Wisdom cross off the crossbar in the 35th minute. The Colonels were unable to clear the rebound and Wahinya collected a ball in the box and dropped a ball for Furlong who connected for his third of the year.

In the waning minutes of the half, Andrew Fenstermacher slid home his first of the year for a 2-0 lead. He is the fifth Eastern player to score on a corner kick this fall. Jereme Wells delivered the serve.

Eastern had a 15-3 edge in first-half shots.

Sam Sutherland started the second-half scoring with a classy chip from the right side of the box in the 58th minute. Wilkes grabbed a goal back in the 71st, but Pascal Verna answered with a pair of finishes in the next five minutes. The first-year forward poked home an Evan Needs pass in the 73rd minute and finished a rebound on Wahinya's shot in the 76th.

Anthony Hitchcock made one save and allowed a goal to pick up the win. Ben Lochstampfor came on to finish the match.

Coach Payne Says:
"It was very good performance from us today. I thought we were in control of the game from the beginning. It was tough for them to have to play a man down, but Cade was going to score there and the goal would have changed the match in our favor as well."

"We were disappointed to not get a shutout today, but it was also good to see 5 goals go in the back of the net for us. I was happy to see three goals come from substitutes today. It is exciting that we can expect to score from multiple spots even when our stating group is on the field."

"Cade Harmon was fantastic today even though he didn't score. His work rate on both sides of the ball was phenomenal. He was the best player on the field today."

"There was a lot of good today but we were not perfect. We want to be better when we play our next game. We will address the areas that we need to improve and not let winning cover up those areas. We move on to Stockton. It is important for us to take care of our bodies tonight and tomorrow as we play on Monday. That game is very important to us as we continue to build our resume this season."
Up Next:
The Eagles, who sit alone atop the MAC Freedom, start a three-match week on Monday. They will host Stockton on Monday and Delaware Valley on Wednesday. The week finishes at DeSales. Eastern (10-2-1, 4-0 MAC Freedom) Can secure a home game in the MAC Freedom Tournament with a win over Delaware Valley.