OLATHE, Kan. ? After early exits in each of the last two season, the 18th-seeded Embry-Riddle men's soccer team tallied a goal in each half of play to advance to the second round of the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship on Wednesday. The Eagles, courtesy of goals by Phil Middleton and Hugh Davey downed No. 15 Madonna (14-4-2) to improve their overall record to 11-6-2.

The Eagles announced their presence early in the match. Just 1:52 into the match, AJ Barrett got a cross off from the left side of the field. After a scramble in the box, Carl Sheard won the ball and headed it down to Phil Middleton who scored his second goal of the season to put the Eagles up 1-0.

Madonna got a goal back in the 43rd minute off a header by Darrell Quinn to tie the score at 1-1 heading into the halftime break.

The score remained knotted at one goal apiece until the 69th minute. Davey, the Eagles' central defender, won the ball in the middle of the park and played it wide to Middleton. Davey continued his run down the line, overlapping Middleton, and after getting the ball back, the senior captain dribbled into the box before his second goal of the year for the Eagle win.

"It was nice win a first game at nationals for a change," Gregson said following the match. "We found a way to win under difficult conditions. It was good for the guys and we fully deserved to win and now we're going into tomorrow's game against the No. 3 seed and we're the big underdogs, but we're still in the tournament and you have to be in it to win it."

The Eagles return to the pitch at 2:15 p.m. CST on Thursday when they go up against Mobile, the No. 3 seed in the tournament.