ANNVILLE, Pa.– After dropping a pair of tight results in the MAC Commonwealth last week, Eastern University Men's Soccer came into this afternoon's road test at Lebanon Valley (9-3, 2-2) needing a result. The Eagles scored twice in the first half and held off a furious late rally to pick up a valuable three points in the league standings with a 2-1 win. 

The Dutchmen came into today's match with 38 goals in 11 matches, and they had not been held scoreless in any contest. The Eagles (8-3-2, 2-2), after a hot start, had scored just three times in the past six matches. 

The Eagles broke a 218 minute scoreless spell with an effort goal from Drew Johnson in the ninth minute. The junior forward was one of eleven Eastern players in the Eastern box defending a Lebanon Valley corner. Dylan Daigneault headed the initial cross, but an LVC player gathered the ball on the left side and ripped a cross toward the scoring area. Jake Morales headed the ball from danger and over the LVC back row. Johnson never stopped running and intercepted a pass toward the Lebanon Valley goalkeeper. 

He made his first touch inside the center circle and pushed the ball past a desperate sliding tackle from the goalkeeper.  His left-footed shot from 40-yards out rolled over the middle of the goal line before any LVC defender made it back to the box. 

The Eagles doubled the lead just before the half-hour mark on another transition chance. First-year forward Ryan Jammes stole a switching pass on the Eastern half and ran through a pair of LVC defenders before pushing the ball to Derek Buhrman on the left side. Jammes kept his run going and Buhrman sliced a pass back across the face of the final defender. Jammes gathered the ball at the edge of the box and ripped a 15-yard blast into the upper right corner for his second goal of the season. This tally, like his first at Cabrini, turned out to be a game-winner. 

Five minutes later, Jammes nearly put the Eagles up three. Evan Cope played a quick restart at midfield. Jammes beat his mark on the dribble into the left-side of the box and worked up the endline. His right-footed shot beat the LVC goalkeeper, but not the left  upright. It caromed out for a goal kick.

Eastern had a 5-4 edge in first-half shots.

With a 2-0 lead, the Eastern coaching staff knew the Dutchmen would bring pressure. 

Though the Dutchmen scored in the 83rd minute, the Eastern defense delivered over the final half hour. Diesel Fiore made five saves in the final half hour. LVC also hit the crossbar in the 77th minute. 

With LVC pushing forward, the Eagles found more transition chances but were unable to stretch the lead.

"Today we found a way to win against a very good LVC team," Head Coach Kevin Brenner said. "We executed our game plan to perfection through the first hour. Drew Johnson, Ryan Jammes, and Derek Berhman were outstanding in creating turnovers and putting good pressure on their back line. We had to make changes in the second half to neutralize their attack. We probably got stuck a little deep in our defensive end. Diesel Fiore made three fantastic saves late, and our back line was superb."

The Eagles will host Messiah University on Olson Field at 3:00 this Saturday.