ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Julio Ardon scored in the 64th minute, and the Eastern University Men's Soccer defense made that goal stand as the Eagles handed the visiting Franklin and Marshall College Diplomats (8-1-2) their first loss of the 2018 season. First-year goalkeeper Anthony Hitchcock made two saves and managed his box well behind a stout back line to earn his third shutout in five career starts. Eastern (7-2-1) is now 4-1 in 1-0 matches.

How It Happened.
Colin Furlong picked up a rebound after a cross was cleared from the box. The junior midfielder ripped a low shot through traffic from the top of the box. A Diplomat defender directed the ball away from goal, but it went over the endline for Eastern's fifth corner kick of the match. The Eagles had scored five times on corner kicks coming into today's match.

Furlong's serve went past the near-post runner and Ardon arrived in time to head home his first career goal.

Eastern's experience playing in close matches paid off as Head Coach Jeremy Payne used several players to keep the Diplomats on the perimeter. While Franklin and Marshall had more of the ball over the final 25 minutes, the Eagles did have two excellent chances to double the lead. Evan Needs put a shot on frame in a transition chance, and Furlong had a free kick chance with just over a minute to play that went over the cross bar.

Hitchcock cut away several dangerous crosses, but Jake Sankey, Furlong and Jacob Myers each had important headed clears as the Diplomats served balls into box on long throws, corner kicks and in the run of play over the final 15 minutes.

What it Means:
As Franklin and Marshall moved from 11th to 5th in the most recent United Soccer Coaches National poll, the win is the highest ranked team an Eastern Men's Soccer team has beaten. While the Coaches poll is not official for NCAA Tournament selection, the win over a highly-ranked regional opponent is very important for teams under consideration and for seeding if that becomes relevant.

Coach Payne Says:
"[It was a] Great effort from the boys today. I thought we were very well prepared for the match going in. We knew that we could play straight up with them and have success. We knew we were going to have to deal with them being direct and being dangerous on the counter. I thought we were the better team in the first half of the match. Both teams changed tactics after the goal and I thought we did a nice job of protecting our goal with confidence and purpose over the last 15 to 20 minutes."

"Though neither finished on the scoresheet  score Liam Harmon and Cade Harmon put in really good games. Liam put their right back under a bunch of pressure and he helped us so much defending from the wing position. Cade wants to score every game, but his work-rate in the midfield was very important."

"Colin, Jake Cahill, Sankey, and Myers showed great determination, grit, and fitness by playing the full 90 minutes in a very intense match."

"What a great time for Julio to get his first collegiate goal. Again, we show that we are very dangerous on set pieces and that we have a great ability to control the boxes. We weren't perfect today but we played a very good game. Our energy and enthusiasm was great. Our commitment to defending and winning individual battles was at a high today."

"This is a great win for our team for this season but also for the program as a whole. This shows that we have the ability to play with anybody. What we want is consistency. That is what separates good teams from great teams. We need to keep chasing this energy and commitment in our matches and at training. It was clear why F&M has been so successful. They are a great team and a very committed team. They will be an NCAA tournament team and are one of the best teams in the country."


Up Next:
The Eagles have three days to prepare to play at FDU-Flroham. Though the Devils are only 3-7 this fall, they reached the MAC Freedom Tournament last fall and beat the Eagles, 3-1, the last time the two teams played in Madison.