ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Soccer (2-1) dropped a tough 1-0 decision to the visiting Randolph-Macon College Yellow Jackets (2-1) in a rain-soaked affair on Olson Field. The No. 15 Eagles made a late push but were unable to find the equalizer.

How It Happened:
While neither team was able to establish a possession rhythm in the wet conditions of the first half, those same conditions led to numerous restarts on long throws and corners. The visitors had more chances, but only put four shots at goal. Anthony Hitchcock saved the only shot on target in the opening half. 

With today as the home-opener, it was the first game appearance on Olson Field for the Eastern first year players. Ten freshmen saw action in the first half.

The deciding moment of the match came early in the second half. The Jackets earned a free kick thirty-five yards from goal on a contested ball in the air. The serve into the box skipped and the Eastern clear did not get far. A Jacket attacker rose for a header and deflected the ball toward the goal line to Hitchcock's left. Josh Beeker won the race to the loose ball and, despite a tight angle, slammed a left-footed shot in from close range. 

That goal would prove to be enough.

The Eagles pushed numbers forward over the final 25 minutes and had several good chances in the final 15 minutes, but the Yellow Jacket defense held its line and kept the sheet clean. Kasper Zaba-Poplowski had a great look on a pass from Bryce Wahinya in the 71st minute, but his shot from 13 yards hit Randolph-Macon goalkeeper Luke Messick. 

In the 71st minute, Jake Sankey ripped a 15-yard shot that had prospects, but the low shot drifted just left of goal.

Following a Randolph-Macon foul in a deep position, the Eagles had two chances with numbers in the box, but could only manage an off-target volley from Daniel Panto.

The loss is the first on Olson Field in almost exactly a year. The Eagles fell in overtime in the same fixture against William Paterson last fall. The Eagles finished the season 9-1-1 at home last year. 

Coach Payne Says:
"My hope is that our team learns from today. We are a very young squad and I think we looked young today. We got caught up in a lot of external things that weren't necessarily related to the game. I blame myself for that. Our standard is the same for the way that we conduct ourselves every year."

"We had some spells of playing well. There were times where we locked them in their end. We need impose ourselves and control the game a little more than we did today. Game came down to a set piece. We talked about it before the match about how important set pieces were for today. We pushed hard in the last 15-20 minutes being down a goal. At the end of the day, we didn't have enough quality to create chances and we didn't convert on the amount that we had."

"Washington College will be a very tough squad and we will need to regroup very fast. Tomorrow's game against them is very important. Not just because we lost today, but because every game is important to us."

"This won't be the last time we are in a tight game. Probably won't be the last time we are playing from behind this year. There are a lot of good teams on our schedule. Our schedule is loaded with quality teams. We want to find a way to get better from game to game and be at our best come conference play. We want to do this while also getting results. It's definitely a balance."

Up Next:
Eastern will have little time to recover. They host the Washington College Shoremen (2-1) tomorrow at 4:30. The Shoremen dropped a 2-1 decision at Cabrini earlier this afternoon.