Middlesex came up with a strong effort to hold off the relentless pressure from Rivers and earn a 3-1 home victory.  In a matchup of two hard-working and talented squads, Rivers jumped out to an early lead in the 16th minute as Paul Hawkins proved that you don't need to give him much of an opportunity to score a goal.  He received a ball from Nate Sherman and cut in on his shooting foot to bury the ball at the near post from just inside the penalty area.  Middlesex only trailed for ten minutes, and had put a tremendous amount of pressure on the Rivers net in the first ten minutes, as Cole LaPlante came up big for the visitors.  Jacob Charles hit a powerful shot in the 26th minute on the Rivers net and Nick Buonanno followed it up to bury the loose ball and even the score at 1-1.  This was the score line at halftime, and Rivers had worked harder to win the second balls in the first half.  The momentum shifted in the second half, and within nine minutes of the restart Middlesex scored a beautiful team goal, as Quirk split the defense the find Sanderson, who gained the end line and found Liam Sloan in the six for a delicate chip of a fizzed in cross that went over the keeper's shoulder and into the net.  Cole Whisnand relieved the pressure with a third Middlesex goal in the 75th minute, as Sloan, who settled a keeper clearance, played a quick ball for Whisnand to chip beyond the keeper from 30 yards to seal the three points.  It was a hard fought, end-to-end match that was played cleanly and with good spirit and sportsmanship from both sides.