Baldwin City, Kan. - In a top 25 showdown between No. 22 Central Methodist and No. 25 Baker at Hartley Field, the Eagles secured a narrow 2-1 road victory in a tightly contested match.

The game featured eight yellow cards and one red card, with both sides evenly matched in the first half. CMU managed three shots compared to the Wildcats' five, but neither side significantly troubled the goalkeepers.

A red card for the Eagles left them down a man for the final 65 minutes of. Despite being short-handed, coach Galla's game plan worked perfectly as the Eagles took the lead in the 58th minute. Senior Guilherme Pereira netted his fifth goal of the season and just minutes later assisted sophomore Ilhan Dervisevic, who doubled the lead, making it 2-0.

The Wildcats weren't finished, however. After some close chances and strong saves from Eagles' goalkeeper Niccolo Cabras, Baker broke through in the 85th minute when Reilly Marlow-Jones found the back of the net, cutting the deficit in half. 

Baker pushed forward in search of a late equalizer, but the final whistle blew, giving the Eagles the victory. Central Methodist finished with seven shots, five on target compared to two shots on target for BU. 

With the 2-1 win, the Eagles improve to 9-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play. They return to action on Wednesday, Oct. 2 against Park University at Davis Field, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.

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