GRANTHAM,Pa.– Eastern University Men's Soccer fell behind early and was not able to recover in a 5-1 loss at No. 2 Messiah University. Derek Buhrman scored the lone Eastern goal in the 64th minute.

In looking to earn an upset on the road against a top ranked opponent, a team can either look to sneak in an early goal or keep the game level for as long as possible. On this night, however, the Eagles were unable to do either. The host Falcons scored off a cross from the left side in the second minute. The hosts doubled their lead in the 15th minute and went up 3-0 in the 22nd minute.

Evan Cope had a great chance from a central position saved in the 27th minute, but the Falcons had the bulk of the chances through the first half. Ty Bleiler made six saves, including a couple tremendous reaction saves on shots from in close, in  the first half. He finished with nine saves.

The Falcons(13-0-1, 4-0) , who had won their first three MAC Commonwealth matches by 4-0 scores, scored their fourth goal in the 58th minute. The Eagles grabbed one back after a strong sequence in the 62nd minute. Ryan Jammes drew a foul right at the top of the box and Buhrman had his free kick blocked at the edge of the wall. The Falcons defense got. A partial clear on the ensuing corner kick, but Buhrman collected the short clearance and drove a finish through traffic for his third goal the year.

Buhrman's tally was just the second given up this month by the Messiah defense. The Falcons added a final tally in the 89th minute.

"It was a disappointing loss tonight, Head Coach Glodi Konga said after the match. "We came out very flat. We regrouped in the second half and pulled a goal back, but the mountain was too high to climb. It was a learning curve for us. We have a couple of days to rest before the next one. We will be ready."

The Eagles (5-8-1, 2-3) are at Alvernia University for a critical MAC Commonwealth test on Wednesday.