FRESNO, Calif. – The fourth-seed Embry-Riddle men's soccer team erased a one-goal deficit in the first half with three goals in the second to top host Fresno Pacific 3-1 in the second round of the NAIA National Championship on Monday. With the win, the Eagles improve their record to 14-3-4 on the year, while the Sunbirds conclude their season at 8-8-2.

The Eagles appeared to be the more dominant team on the pitch from the first whistle outshooting Fresno Pacific 10-2 in the first frame, but it was the Sunbirds who took a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute. The play started as a counter attack and led to Rodrigo Vianna Ferreira playing the ball into Lou Saelee who in turn got the ball to Paul Islas. Islas then beat ERAU's Viktor Bergstrand to the lower left corner for a one-goal lead at the halftime break.

After a few close calls in the first half, the Eagles finally broke through just under 10 minutes into the second. Alexis Pradie came out on the winning end of a tackle in the Eagles' defensive third and played a long ball to Sam Litchfield on the right side of the field. Litchfield took the ball into the corner before getting a cross off to Ryan Maloney who drilled a shot past Sunbird starting keeper Timothy Nightingale to pull the Blue and Gold level at 1-1.

Less than two minutes later, the Eagles took the lead when a ball played from the back found Marco Harleman running down the middle of the field. With one defender to beat, Harleman played the ball to Maloney who was unmarked on the right, and the junior slotted home his second goal of the night to give the Eagles the lead.

The Eagles' third goal came in the 63rd minute. The Eagles lost the ball just outside the Sunbirds' 18-yard box, but Harleman did not give up on the play, winning the ball back, taking it across the field and completing a pass to Litchfield inside the six-yard box. Litchfield took full advantage to his proximity to the goal and netted his fourth goal of the season to seal the Eagle win.

Bergstrand finished the night with three saves, while Nightingale managed two saves in the Fresno Pacific effort.

The Eagles will have a day to rest on Tuesday before returning to action at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday to face the winner of the Simon Fraser/Bethel (Tenn.), which will be played at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday.