BETHLEHEM, Pa.— Eastern University Men's Soccer scored twice in the first half and held off a late charge from the host Moravian College Greyhounds to earn a hard-fought 2-0 win. Joåo Tarabal had a goal and an assist and Ty Bleiler made six stops in goal to earn the win.

The two teams each had chances in a scoreless opening half hour. The Eagles finally broke through after a Haroon Husseini shot tested the Greyhound keeper and forced a corner. Tarabal served the corner in and Matt Capuano delivered the finish. The 34th-minute tally was the first for the senior defensive midfielder since he scored in October of 2022.

Three minutes later, Mauro Lence slipped in behind the Moravian defense and was fouled inside the box by the Greyhound keeper. Tarabal converted for the penalty spot to give the Eagles their first two-goal lead of the season.

In the 40th minute, Moravian had a chance to grab a goal back, but Bleiler turned away the penalty kick.

Eastern has held a lead in each of the team's first three matches of the year and in each of those matches the squad has had chances to build that edge. Taking the two-goal edge to halftime, the Eastern staff made the decision to change tactics to protect the goal.

After having a 9-8 edge in first-half shots, the Eagles saw those numbers more than flip as the hosts chased the game and threw numbers at the Eastern goal.

As the half progressed the Eastern defense sank deeper into its own half and the Greyhounds fired hopeful sallies toward the Eastern goal. In the 80th minute, Bleiler took a hit from a Moravian attacker and had to come off the field. First-year goalkeeper Will Schade came on and immediately faced a pair of corners. Without much warning to warm-up, Schade made what Head Coach Luca Mellor said might have been the save of the year on a shot from in close.

Bleiler came back on in the 82nd minute, and he still had work to do. Another foul in the box gave Moravian a second penalty kick opportunity. Bleiler guessed correctly again and turned away another chance. Though Moravian hit the crossbar in the 90th minute, the Eagles earned their first clean sheet since Sept. 13 last year. Moravian had a 20-4 edge in second-half shots.

"At halftime we made the decision to prioritize getting a clean sheet," Mellor said. "Looking back, we might have sat a little bit deep. We needed both goalkeepers to come up with big stops and they did. This was a good win for the guys."

Eastern will host local rival Ursinus on Tuesday.