What kind of season is Charlotte Eagles goalkeeper Eric Reed having?

Here's an idea - Charlotte's 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Friday at Charlotte Christian was the Eagles' fifth victory of the season. And Reed, who has started every game in goal, has six shutouts.

"I never look at stats till the end of the season, so I couldn't tell you about anything like that," Reed said after recording seven saves, most of them difficult and all of them big, to help get the Eagles (5-4-3, 18 points) back in the win column after a 3-2 road loss to the Wilmington Hammerheads in a second round U.S. Open Cup game on Tuesday.

The Eagles are still on a seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2) in USL Pro League play after posting a 1-4-1 record in their first six games. (The total includes a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Railhawks in a U.S. Open Cup game which doesn't count in the standings.)

"It was a hard start for us this season," Reed, 27, a former UCLA standout, said. "All these games are important now and we've picked a good time to start getting better."

Sallieu Bundu scored both Charlotte goals nine minutes apart in the first half, assisted first by Ben Page and then by Greg Dalby. And the Eagles didn't stop there, continuing to apply offensive pressure in a second half in which Charlotte players hit the crossbar or goalpost four times.

"If you sit back with a 2-0 lead and the other team gets a goal, they've got new life," Eagles coach Mark Steffens said.

Charlotte outshot the Riverhounds (2-9-3, 9 points), who haven't won a road game, 17-10.

And once the Eagles got that lead, Reed kept it safe. He stopped several in-close Pittsburgh opportunities and made his biggest save on a penalty kick by Jason Yeisley with about 22 minutes remaining in the game.

"On those, you just close your eyes and pray," Reed said. "You have to get lucky sometimes."

Steffens gave a more analytical view of his goalkeeper's abilities. "He reads the game at a different level than most goalkeepers," he said.

The win, combined with a Wilmington loss to Charleston, put the Eagles and Hammerheads into a tie for last in the National Division. But both are just six points out of a playoff spot.

"You can't consider yourself a playoff team unless you're over .500," Steffens said.

NOTE: The Eagles play their next three games on the road and they don't return home until a July 9 game against the Richmond Kickers.