ANNVILLE, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Soccer found a goal in the 19th minute and held on for a 1-0 win at Lebanon Valley College. Anthony HItchcock made six saves to pick up his third clean sheet of the season. 

How It Happened:
While the Eagles (4-4-1) went to halftime with a 1-0 lead, the host Dutchmen had a good bit of the play in the opening 45 minutes. The Eagles kept good defensive shape and found opportunities to get forward. Sam Sutherland picked up a pass on the left side from Reginald Lloyd and after drawing the defense into wide space found Lloyd in a pocket near the top of the box. Lloyd found a little space with his first touch and left no doubt with his second. The sophomore cracked a right-footed blast toward the right side of the goal. The Lebanon Valey goalkeeper got his fingertips to the ball and pushed it off the inside of the upright, but the power of the initial shot was enough for the ball to get in.

Lebanon Valley had another great chance in the 27th minute, but the shot from inside the box sailed high. The Dutchmen (2-5-1) had a 7-4 edge in shots and 3-2 edge in corners at the break, but the Eagles held the edge in the one category that mattered. 

Both teams put four shots on frame in the second half, but both goalkeepers were up to the challenge. Derek Buhrman broke in behind the LVC back row near the hour mark, but LVC goalie Sean Quirk was off his line in time to turn away the breakaway effort.

Last fall at Eastern, LVC scored a 90th minute equalizer and held on for a 2-2 draw. There would be no late heroics today. Hitchcock made his final stop in the 89th minute.

Coach Payne Says:
"[It was a] Good performance from our team today. It's great to get a shutout."

"I thought we went into half time with a good mentality. We knew we were up 1-0 but that we could play better and that LVC has dangerous chances early on. I thought we were better in the 2nd half. We controlled much more of the game and showed more composure when playing with the lead."

"LVC challenged us in the way they play out of the back. Most of the teams we have played to this point have been rather direct."

"I think our match today made us better and that we grew as a team during it."

Up Next:
On Saturday, the Eagles will play their fourth game of the fall against a MAC Commonwealth opponent. Eastern will host Stevenson at 3 pm. Eastern will switch from the Freedom to the Commonwealth starting in 2020-21.