ST. DAVIDS, Pa.- Julio Ardon and Derek Burhrnan each scored second half goals and Eastern University Men's Soccer held off a late push by their visiting Eagle Road rivals to earn a 2-1 win over Cabrini. It is the seventh win in a row for the Eagles and pulls Eastern to within a game in the 41-match sequence dating back to 1982.

How It Happened:
The Eagles controlled possession and field position from the start and were dangerous with seven first half corners and seven total shots. The Eagles showed good commitment to putting shots on frame.

Jeremy Barnes-Bey provided great service from the right flank through the early going of the match and nearly scored with a high hard shot from a tight angle at the half hour mark. Cabrini goalkeeper Anthony Zampirri got a hand to it and parried the blast around the near post to keep the score level.

With eight minutes to play in the half, the Cavaliers had a great chance on a long throw. Matt Mitchell saved a Vincent DeLisi shot off the goal line. That close-range effort was Cabrini's only shot on goal in the opening half.

Moments later Jared Whitehorn rose up above traffic and snapped a header off the crossbar. The Eagles were unable to knock the rebound home. Whitehorn had another chance in the final seconds of the half. His tight-angle volley to the near-post hit the spot on the goal where the crossbar and the upright meet.  The pace of the shot put the rebound out of the scoring area.

The positive momentum of the first half paid dividends early. After losing the ball in the attack, the Eagles found their first goal in a transition moment. Ardon took the ball off a Cabrini defender and tucked a 20-yard shot under the crossbar for the 1-0 lead in the 48th minute.

Eight minutes later, the Eagles built a goal from scratch. Mitchell won a ball in his own half and made a hard run up the right side. He slipped a pass into a wide channel. Reginald Lloyd picked  up that pass in stride and drove a low cross to the front of the goal. Sam Sutherland met the balland hit a shot that Zampiri blocked. Buhrman volleyed home the rebound for the Eagles first two-goal lead since the opening game of the year.

After pressing the action through the first 75 minutes, the Eagles gave up a restart in the defensive end and the Cavaliers converted to close the gap. That goal changed the game a bit, and the Cabvaliers had more of the play and a couple good chances in the closing minutes. Anthony Hitchcock picked up three saves int eh second half to secure the win.

Coach Payne Says:
"Definitely our best performance of the year. We made less mistakes in our half and we valued the ball a lot more. I thought there was purpose to our possession. We did a good job of winning the ball back after losing it and getting to our defensive shape early when we weren't able to win it back quickly."

We had a lot of guys play well today.

"[It was] really great to see Buhrman get his first goal. He will score a lot more this year and in his career. Ardon had his best game in an Eastern uniform today. His movement off the ball and his defensive work was outstanding today. Alex McGlynn had his best game of the season and looked very solid. He was physical and had a good balance of short passes and longer driven balls. Mitchell put in another solid performance. He has really been an anchor and leader on the field for us. Whitehorn had some solid minutes and hit the post twice.

"We are unhappy about not getting a shutout and making the game closer than it needed to be. We are continuing to learn and get better when playing with the lead."

"Today was a step in the right direction for our team and program. We have a tough stretch of games coming up starting with Lycoming on Saturday. They have our full attention and look forward to testing ourselves against them."

Up Next:
The Eagles (3-3-1) are at Lycoming on Saturday.