GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Goals in the first 30 minutes from Alvaro Viadas (Burgos, Spain) and Dylan Mayanja (Camp Hill, Pa./Camp Hill) gave the Washington & Jefferson College men's soccer team an early advantage and the Presidents held on to defeat foe Thiel 2-1 in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play Wednesday evening.
 
The win is W&J's (7-7-2, 4-0-1 PAC) fourth-straight victory in league play and puts the Presidents in sole possession of second place with 13 points in the league standings despite playing one fewer game than first-place Westminster (14 points).
 
Viadas and Maynaja continued their respective offensive prowess with Viadas collecting a point in a fifth-straight game and Mayanja scoring a goal in his fifth-consecutive outing.
 
Viadas got the scoring starting in the game's 21^st minute, heading a shot over the keeper from a volley forward by Michael Komaniak (Oakmont, Pa./Riverview). The goal was Viadas' sixth of the season and gave Komaniak his team-leading sixth assist of the year.
 
In the 30^th minute, the Presidents struck again with Jake Fetterman (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) connecting with Mayanja for his team-best seventh goal of the season. The last time a President posted seven goals in an entire season came in 2013 when Cody Peddicord and Brian Hanna each finished the season with seven.
 
The Presidents carried a 2-0 lead into halftime while holding Thiel without a shot on goal in the game's first 45 minutes.
 
Early in the second half, Samuel Milller (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) saved Thiel's first attempt on target for the evening.
 
Neither team managed shot on goal until the 82^nd minute when Viadas' attempt was thwarted.
 
The Tomcats made things interesting late with a goal from beyond the 18 yard box in the 88^th minute to trim the Presidents' advantage to 2-1, but W&J prevented Thiel from attempting a game-tying shot over the game's final two minutes.
 
The Red and Black outshot the Tomcats 23-7 (7-2 SOG) for the game and both teams recorded five corners.
 
Komaniak recorded eight shots and along with Viadas and Mayanja put two shots on goal.
 
Ian Donlon (Lantham, N.Y./Albany Academies) played the first half and collected the win without having to make a save. Miller played the final 45 minutes and had one save.
 
The Presidents travel to third-place Geneva (8-7, 4-1 PAC) Saturday evening for a 5:00 p.m. matchup with the Golden Tornadoes.