ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Soccer scored twice in each half to earn a 4-0 home win over the Centenary University Cyclones.
Evan Cope scored twice in the win.
Dan Panto put the Eagles up with a brilliant strike in the eighth minute. After a throw-in on the left side, Gabe Velazquez slipped the ball to the middle of the field. The senior midfielder took sliced a first-time shot from 25 yards into the right side of the net. Four minutes later, Cope gave the Eagles their first two-goal lead of the young season. Cope put home a
Derek Buhrman through pass after the Centenary goalkeeper got hands to the ball.
That two-goal edge almost did not happen. In the tenth minute, the Cyclones (0-6-2) created a brilliant chance that resulted in a volley from in close. Cyclone midfielder Devin LeBel hit it well and got a deflection off an Eastern defender. Diving to his right for the original shot,
Ty Bleiler somehow brought the ball into his hands with his legs and the Eagles stayed up.
After the second goal, the Eagles (2-5-1) had nearly all of the play. Eastern had. 19-5 edge in first-half shots and a 36-8 edge in shots for the match. Centenary goalie Kevin Velasquez Mejia was credited with 14 saves.
Two minutes after halftime, Cope scored his second on another goal from in close. Buhrman won a header on a cross from the left side. Cope collected the redirection and pushed it over the line for his third of the year.
Eastern's final goal came on a
Nik Kokolios penalty kick. The Eagles earned the shot from the spot after a corner kick.
Jake Morales bent a hard serve to the near post that a Cyclone defender popped into the air. A second defender shoved Jesse Tyler and the referee pointed directly to the spot. Kokolios converted for his first goal of the year.
The win comes at the end of a six-game home-stand for the Eagles. Starting with a final non-league test at The Catholic University of America on Tuesday, the Eagles will have three games on the road before returning home to host the Hood College Blazers on Homecoming.
