TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — St. Edward's men's soccer controlled possession and peppered Northeastern State with shots, but the RiverHawks struck twice early in the second half and held on for a 2-1 win Thursday night.

Marco Cornelio broke a scoreless tie in the 50th minute before Carl Murch doubled the lead seven minutes later off an assist from Avelino Rosa.

The Hilltoppers (2-1-2) answered in the 81st minute when SHUNJI WATANABE buried a chance to cut the deficit in half, but St. Edward's couldn't find the equalizer. 

St. Edward's outshot Northeastern State 14-7, including a 9-3 advantage on goal, and earned nine corner kicks to the RiverHawks' four. But goalkeeper Cameron McColloch made seven saves to keep the Hilltoppers at bay. ANGEL RAMIREZ finished with one save for St. Edward's.

The loss was the Hilltoppers' first of the season following a four-match unbeaten run at home that included draws against No. 9 Fort Lewis and Mississippi College. Northeastern State (3-1-1) notched its second straight victory after a mixed start to the season.

St. Edward's will have the weekend off to prepare for its two-game trip to Washington, facing Western Washington on Wednesday and Seattle Pacific University on Friday.