Junior forward Josh Kirkland (Richmond, Va. / Deep Run) scored a pair of goals early to lift the University of Mary Washington men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Catholic University on Tuesday afternoon at the Battleground. The Eagles improve to 6-3-1 on the season.

Kirkland got the proceedings started in style, scoring just 27 seconds into the game on an assist from freshman Carter Berg (Reston, Va. / South Lakes). The Eagles' duo up front wasn't finished, however, as Berg found Kirkland again at 14:12 to give UMW a 2-0 cushion.

The Eagles continued to apply pressure, with Catholic gaining several strong chances to end the half. CUA had one shot hit the goal post, and another turned away as senior goalkeeper Griffin Hemmendinger (Norfolk, Va. / Granby) made a sprawling save while doing a split in a one-on-one situation.

Mary Washington led in shots, 18-4, as well as in corner kicks, 4-2. Hemmendinger made a pair of saves in registering his first solo shutout.

The Eagles will return to action on Saturday when they host Salisbury University in Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference action at the Battleground, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m.