WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Gallaudet University men's soccer team made Homecoming 2011 a memorable one Friday as the Bison defeated Penn St.-Berks 2-1 before a crowd of 175 at Hotchkiss Field in a North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) game between the two teams. The win marked the first home conference win by Gallaudet since a 3-2 win over Marymount (Va.) University on October 27, 1997. Gallaudet last celebrated a home win on October 17, 2006 against Southern Virginia when the Bison won 1-0.

Gallaudet (2-11, 1-7 NEAC) scored the game's first goal 12 minutes into the contest as freshman midfielder Karlis Intsons (Riga, Latvia) scored the unassisted goal, a chip shot over a sliding Lions goalie Jonathan Jablonka (nine saves). This is the fourth straight game Intsons has netted a goal. The Bison took the 1-0 lead into halftime.

The game remained a defensive struggle until the final minutes when Penn St.-Berks (2-15, 1-8) got on the scoreboard when Collin McCormick hit a low line-drive free kick through the Bison wall where he got a deflection into the net past goalie Eric Setzer (Middletown, Md.). The freshman netminder finished with six saves.

GU didn't panic as it quickly marched down the field and created a scoring opportunity when Intsons passed to a streaking junior forward Jean-Pierre Kanashiro (Springfield, Va.) who blasted a shot into the upper right corner of the goal at the 87:33 mark. The goal set off a huge celebration in the stands and on the Bison sideline. The Bison finished the game with a 17-13 advantage in shots and 8-2 margin in corner kicks.

This is the second year for the Bison in the NEAC after spending 19 years in the Capital Athletic Conference where Gallaudet posted a 3-132 record during the conference regular-season and a 4-146 mark including CAC tournament games. GU had one win in the CAC tournament in 1997. GU won its first conference game in the NEAC last season on the road against SUNY Cobleskill on October 2. That win ended a 62-game overall losing streak for the Bison dating back to the 2006 season.

GU last won back-to-back games 14 years ago in '97 when the Bison beat Lincoln University 5-0 on October 18 followed by the win over the Saints on October 27. The Bison would go on to win the next match, October 30 against Bowie State, by forfeit.

The Bison have won the most games in a season since 2005 when the Buff and Blue went 3-18. GU coach Luis Gendive, now in his fourth season, guided the Bison in 2005, '06 and most recently last season.

 Gallaudet will place its two-game win streak on the line Tuesday, October 25, at home against NEAC foe Lancaster Bible College at 4 p.m.