WASHINGTON, D.C.– Eastern University Men's Soccer (3-5-1) scored a pair of second-half goals and held off a late charge to earn a hard-fought 2-1 and hand the host Cardinals of The Catholic University of America their first loss of the year. The win is the second in a row for the Eagles heading into MAC Commonwealth competition this weekend.
After an evenly-played scoreless first half, Jake Morales opened up the second half with a 25-yard stunner from the edge of the box. Less than a minute into the frame, the Eagles put together possession through the midfield and Morales collected the ball on the left flank. After a quick move to beat an initial defender, Morales split another two with a touch out of his feet. With just the smallest amount of space, the senior forward smashed a bending shot into the upper corner for a 1-0 lead.
Up a goal, the Eagles faced an onslaught of pressure from the Catholic attack. Their top scorer, Darius Siahpoosh came into today's match with six goals this year. He had an off-target shot in the 56th minute. Seven minutes later, he gathered a ball in the box and ripped a shot to the lower corner that seemed certain to tie the match. TY Bleiler dove left and parried the ball around the post to keep the game level. Bleiler finished the match with six saves. Four of those stops came before the intermission.
Though Bleiler did not have many more saves to make, the Eagles still had sit a little deeper to absorb pressure. This worked in their favor in the 70th minute. Ryan Jammes intercepted a pass in the box, but had no options short. Choosing the risk-averse choice, the sophomore defender blasted a ball behind the Catholic back row. The Cardinal defender knocked a ball back to his goalkeeper but underestimated the pursuit. Haroon Husseini had only been in the match for two minutes and had plenty of energy to press. He stole the misplayed return pass and instantly shot toward the open net. His forty-yard shot rolled into the lower corner for a 2-0 lead.
The tally was the first collegiate goal for Husseini. It came less than 20 miles from his hometown of Springfield, Va.
The Cardinals halved the Eastern lead on an attack up the right side. Domenico Caltabiano gathered a cross and pushed a shot off the right upright. Jammes got a foot on the ball at the goal line but could not keep it out.
The Eagles were able to hold off a late rush from the Cardinals (5-1-3) to earn the win.
"I'm very proud of our performance tonight," Head Coach Glodi Konga said after the match. "We came out fast and forced them to play the way we wanted. Our goals came from exceptional work in the final third. We held on to close the game. It was a complete performance. We will enjoy this one as it prepares us for our first conference game this weekend."
Eastern will head back down 95 to play at Stevenson University this Saturday.
