MADISON, N.J. – The FDU-Florham men's soccer team dropped their Freedom Conference opener 1-0 to the Eastern University Eagles at Robert T. Shields Field on Saturday afternoon.

Last season, the Devils (2-6-3, 0-1 Freedom) took down the Eagles in the opening round of the Freedom Conference Tournament. This year, the Eagles (8-2, 1-0 Freedom) got their revenge.

Four minutes into the game, the 2013 Freedom Conference offensive player of the year, Eric Giovagnoli, was one on one with Devils sophomore goalkeeper Nick Mihalik (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley). Giovagnoli sent the ball past a diving Mihalik from 25 yards out, which gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

The Devils looked to answer with a goal of their own in the first half, sending eight shots at the net, but Eagles goalkeeper, Jamie Stratton stood tall and denied the FDU-Florham attack. Stratton finished the game with six saves.

The Devils had several scoring opportunities, but none quite as close as a Chaz Armand (Atlanta, GA/Westlake) header that hit off the right post in the ninth minute. 

Once the second half began, the Eagles retreated into a defensive set that surrendered only four shots to the Devils. The Eagles took only two shots on goal and let their defense hold on to the 1-0 lead for 86 minutes after the Giovagnoli goal to record the shutout. The Devils outshot the Eagles 12 to seven but were unable to find the equalizer.

Next up for the Devils:
FDU-Florham will travel to Newark, N.J. to face off against Rutgers-Newark on Wednesday, October 8^th at 7:30 p.m.