Sophomore Nick vonEgypt scored in the 87th minute and freshman Derek Antonini got his first collegiate goal as the Misericordia University men's soccer team answered a late Wilkes goal to earn a hard-fought 2-1 Freedom Conference victory on Wednesday afternoon at the Ralston Athletic Complex.

"It certainly wasn't the prettiest game, but we are glad to come out of here with a win," said MU head coach Chuck Edkins. "It was very important for us to get the win tonight. A tie would not have set well with us."

The Cougars did a solid job of maintaining possession throughout the first half, holding a 10-6 advantage in total shots and keeping the ball on their side of the field. In the 37th minute, the Cougars finally broke the deadlock, as freshman Nick Rogers fed a ball through to Antonini, who put it past Wilkes goalkeeper Dave Marr to give MU the 1-0 lead.

"We got a really good first half goal from a pair of freshman," said Edkins. "The work rate of both Rogers and Antonini- as well as our other freshmen- really sparked us tonight. I thought that they did a great job to stay composed and finish."

Wilkes came out in the second half with a stronger attack, but the Cougars managed to keep them from getting many clean looks. That changed, however, in the 85th minute, when Joe Brennan slid behind the Cougar defense to head the ball past Billy Sopko and tie the score at 1-1.

"They played a ball backside, and we just didn't track the run," said Edkins. "It's inexcusable for us to give up a goal with under five minutes to go. We need to really focus for that full 90 minutes, and we lost a little bit of that today."

MU wouldn't be satisfied with a tie on this day. Just 90 seconds later, Rob Wiacek headed a throw in in front of the Cougar goal which vonEgypt blasted home to give the Cougars a 2-1 lead that they would hold until the end.

"The opportunity to show enough character to come back and win the game was important for us," said Edkins. "Everyone is keying on Andy Bush, but to get goals today from our freshmen and then from vonEgypt was huge. They really came through at a key time."

MU, now 10-4-2 and 4-0-1 in Freedom play, will carry a nine-match unbeaten streak into Saturday's home contest with local-rival King's, who currently sits just one point behind the Cougars in the Freedom standings at 4-1.

"King's is another conference opponent, but it's also another local opponent, and I think you have to get excited to play those schools," said Edkins. "Kings' is playing very well right now, and we need to be prepared to elevate to meet the challenge that they will provide."

MU will honor it's seven seniors on Saturday. The game is slated to begin at 1:00 PM.