PHILADELPHIA, PA - After two tough weeks in the conference, the Explorers (6-8-2; 2-4-1) came back strong on Friday night when they took a forceful win over A-10 opponents Xavier University (6-8-1; 3-2-1). The Musketeers tried relentlessly on offense all night to put points on the board, but the two scores of the night would go to La Salle as goalkeeper Dan Pfieffer (Warminster, PA/William Tennant) earned his third shut out of the season.

The Explorers struck early in the game, when a Xavier foul set up a free kick from the penalty box by sophomore Brian Barry (Arnold, MD/Archbishop Spalding), who dropped the ball right into the waiting feet of Jeremy Ortiz (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape). From there Ortiz flicked the ball into the net past the Xavier goalkeeper, giving the Explorers an early 1-0 lead.

La Salle's defense was impenetrable throughout the entire game, leaving the offense to take 14 shots on the day. The second goal was recorded in the 51st minute of the game. Jim Davis (Pittsgrove, NJ/A.P. Schalick) lased in a deep shot from midfield that was deflected by Xavier. Kevin Lydic (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) spied the ball through the crowd and scored the second goal of the game after rebounding the first blocked shot. From there on in it was only a matter of staying tight with the defense to preserve the shut out, which the Explorers had no problem taking care of, ending the game with a 2-0 victory.

The Xavier win could not have come at a better time. "This was huge for us. If we lost this one our season would pretty much have been over, no we're right back in it," said starting midfielder Geoff Schaeffer (Blackwood, NJ/Highland Regional). Sophomore goalkeeper Dan Pfieffer was also pumped about the win. "It was a good, solid game. We've got some momentum going, now we just need to take it one game at a time for these last two."

The Explorer's next host the Dayton Flyers this Sunday at 1:00pm. They're final A-10 regular season opponent is next Sunday, when they play George Washington at home, also at 1:00pm.