ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Soccer scored twice in the opening nine minutes and ran away to a 7-1 Homecoming win over the visiting Hood College Blazers. Evan Cope had three goals as the Eagles picked up three important points in the MAC Commonwealth. 

Cope opened the scoring in the eight minute on a rebound shot from in close. Emmanual Hewitt created the chance with a strong run on the flank. The senior left back pushed the ball past his mark and powered a low shot from a tight angle toward the far post that the Hood goalkeeper stopped but could not hold. Less than a minute later, the Eagles doubled the lead on a brilliant goal on a corner kick. Aidan Link served the ball to the back post where Steven Fajardo connected with a diving header for his first career goal. 

The Eagles stretched the lead to 3-0 on another quality goal. Ryan Jammes took a long crossing pass from Nik Kokolios off his chest. His first touch beat two defenders at the top of the box and he crushed a left-footed volley to the lower right-hand corner for his third goal of the year. The Eagles had an 11-to-4 edge in first-half shots.

The Eagles did not add to their advantage until after the hour mark when Cope grabbed his second off a great feed from Derek Buhrman. Buhrman lost the ball near midfield, but put in work to win the ball back. He earned a little bit of space with his first touch a slipped a well-weighted pass behind the Hood back line. Cope took the chance well for a 4-0 lead. 

Matthew Capuano scored his first career goal on another great combination play. Buhrman started the action with a cross from the left side. Jammes headed the ball back to the scoring area where the rookie midfielder connected with good power to stretch the lead to 5-0. With five subs waiting at the table to come in for over three minutes, Cope completed his hat trick on a nice slip pass from Haroon Husseini. Marino Iandolo wrapped up the scoring for the Eagles in the 85th minute off a through pass from Capuano.

Hood scored two minutes later on a corner kick from right side. 

"We pressed very well from the start of the game," Head Coach Goldi Konga said after the match. "Tommaso [Garavaglia] and the rest of the midfield had their shape right and we were able to create chances early in possessions. We were clinical in front of the goal early, and the lead gave us a great cushion to control the game. Overall, it was an excellent performance on both sides of the ball. We will build on this win heading into Tuesday.

The Eagles (4-7-1, 1-2) are back in action on Olson Field on Tuesday at 3:30 pm.