ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Derek Buhrman scored in the the 99th minute to lift Eastern University Men's Soccer to a 1-0 home win over Misericordia and into the MAC Freedom Championship Match on Saturday. The Eagles (10-9-1) will play in the Championship match for the sixth consecutive season.

How It Happened:

Gabriel Velazquez played the ball over the top of the Misericordia defense to set up the goal. Buhrman raced onto the ball and poked it around the charging goalkeeper. His first shot rolled toward goal before he chased it down to finish it. It is the seventh goal of his rookie campaign and his third game-winner of the year. 

Though the Eagles had the advantage in field position and possession for much of the match, the Cougars (7-8-4) often closed things down well at the edge of the penalty area and appeared dangerous in the counter on several occasions.

Eastern got a shot from Julio Ardon in the first minute of play and another from a similar spot in the fourth minute before the Miericordia defense settled in. The Eagles did not get another shot until the Jake Sankey hit a shot that missed just left off the second of two corner kicks. The Eagles looked dangerous on the first, an inswinger in the 40th minute from Bryce Wahinya, but the Cougars scrambled and cleared the ball from danger. 

Two minutes later, the Eagles had their best chance of the half on a the corner from the right side. Wahinya's low serve skipped to the back post where it was knocked to the ground by competing players. Sankey beat his mark but his shot drifted left. 

The Eagles had a 3-2 edge in first-half shots. The Eagles blocked both Cougar shots in the first 45 minutes.

Eastern had the two best chances of regulation in a two-minute stretch around the hour mark. Sam Sutherland and Matt Mitchell hit shots in close succession. Mitchell's shot spun off a Misericordia defender and hit the face of the left upright. Misericordia goalkeeper Dominic Pizzi scrambled to smother the ball before the Eagles were able to put in a rebound.

Moments later, Wahinya served in another dangerous corner. Alex McGlynn beat his mark at the back post and headed the ball back against the grain. His effort hit the same upright and the Misericordia defense cleared it away before the Eagles could convert.

Eastern had a 6-5 edge in shots in the second half, but the Eagles did not allow a corner kick in the match. The Cougars won the regular-season tilt on a Corner kick in the second overtime.

The Eagles did have to dodge a set-piece chance to start the first overtime. Sankey and Daniel Panto each won headers on the play before the Eagles were able to clear the ball from danger. Head coach Jeremy Payne had just made several substitutions in the midfield when Velazquez picked up the ball near midfield and found Buhrman.

Anthony Hitchcock recorded just one save to earn the shutout, but the junior goalkeeper made several strong plays in the air to manage his box and limit chances. 

Coach Payne Says:

"First, I want to say that this is a good win for a variety of reasons. We were able to get a result against a team that we lost to earlier in the season. We got a shutout. We played and trusted a lot of guys today. It's impressive because we had to play at home at 2pm on a Wednesday. Our guys were in class until 12:15 while Misericordia was able to have the whole day to travel down and not worry about classes. I am very proud of my guys."

"Overall, I thought we did a decent job of executing our game plan. We didn't give Misericordia many long throws into the box, we didn't foul much and allow them to hit balls into the box, and we did not allow a corner kick."

"We were able to hit the post twice in the second half and I thought did a better job of getting the ball to our wingers in more dangerous areas."

"I always tell the guys that it might take a long time to break through or break a team down. Today that was a little more than 98 minutes. It is always fun to score an overtime goal, especially in postseason play."

Up Next:
The Eagles await the winner of tonight's MAC Freedom Semifinal match between top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology and fourth-seeded King's College. Eastern and King's met in last year's MAC Freedom Championship match. The Eagles lost 1-0 at Stevens last Saturday. If King's wins, the match will be at Eastern. If Stevens wins, the Eagles will travel back to Hoboken for a second straight Saturday. The Eastern schedule page will be updated as soon as that information is available.