LAKELAND, Fla.—The No. 21 Embry-Riddle men's soccer team closed out their regular season Sun Conference slate with a 5-1 win over the Southeastern Fire on Wednesday night at Fire Field.

Play was slow between the Eagles (11-4-1, 7-2-0) and the Fire (4-12-0, 1-7-0) as the Eagles were the only team able to get a shot off in the first 15 minutes of the match. ERAU got on the board first however, when Ally MacDonald sent a ball across the pitch to the center of the penalty area. MacDonald's ball hit off of one SEU defender and then deflected off of another that misplayed the ball, but luckily for the Eagles, Viktor Gudnason was in perfect position to gather the misplay and finish to put the Eagles up 1-0.  

Once the Eagles got on the board, they never turned back; keeping the majority of the offensive possession in the first half and scoring their second goal eight minutes later when MacDonald was making a run and was fouled on the far side of the field. Sam Fairhurst's free kick from the far side went through the Fire defense, untouched, and hit off the far post, but Matthias Klatt was there for the touch and the goal. The goal was the first of 2011 for the senior and it gave the Eagles a two-goal lead.

Embry-Riddle scored again in the 32nd minute when Anel Coralic found Fairhurst on the left side of the pitch just outside the 18-yard box. Fairhurst collected Coralic's pass and lofted a shot past Fire keeper, David Danahy, to put the Blue and Gold up 3-0.

ERAU found the back of the net one last time before half when Gudnason collected his second goal on the evening. Gudnason obtained the ball right at midfield, beat one defender and ripped a long and beautiful shot from 45 yards out that beat Danahy in the bottom right corner.

Southeastern was only able to muster two shots in the first half and both of them were on goal. The Eagles got off nine shots, five of which were on goal, and went into the locker room with a 4-0 lead.

The Eagles came out aggressive on the whistle as play in the second half began. ERAU came away with their fifth goal of the match in the 55th minute of play when senior Michael Donald played a ball that found Gudnason in the middle of the pitch. Gudnason gathered the ball and found Erik Norburg open for a shot and the fifth Eagle goal.

Southeastern was able to come back with a goal of their own in the 69th minute when a controversial foul was called on MacDonald in the penalty area. The referee awarded the Fire a penalty kick and Knox Strawbridge was able to put it past Nils Carlson in the bottom right corner to break up the shut out.     

Play was very physical for the remainder of the game as the majority of the 25 second half fouls, along with two cautions, were given in the last 20 minutes of play. Neither team was able to come away with another goal, but both the Eagles and the Fire threatened with goal scoring opportunities.

Gudnason highlighted the stat book for the Eagle men with two goals and an assist. Fairhurst added a goal and an assist, while Klatt, Norburg, MacDonald and Coralic added points. The Eagles outshot the Fire 15-9 and bested them in shots on goal 7-5.

The Eagle men currently on top of The Sun Conference standings and are one of the first teams to complete regular season conference play. At the least, the Eagles would be the No. 2 seed in the Sun Conference tournament in which the first round is slated to begin on Nov. 5. St. Thomas, the team the Eagles are fighting for the No. 1 seed has one conference game remaining against Northwood so the Eagles will await their fate after the completion of that game on Oct. 30.  

The Eagles will wrap up regular season play with senior night at 7 p.m. on Oct. 29 when they host Flagler College at Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium.