Eastern University Athletics

Eastern University Men's Soccer rallied to an improbable 4-3 overtime win to celebrate Homecoming. Ben Faro picked up a rebound off the crossbar and bodied the ball across the goal line in the 99th minute of play for the game-winner.

The dramatic finish seemed unlikely early. The Eagles gave up a pair of goals in the opening five minutes, and the hill overlooking Olson Field seemed eerily quiet. Steve Krause finished a Jonathan Balfour pass in the second minute to give the visiting Bulldogs a 1-0 lead, and Aaron Gildner doubled that edge just over two minutes later on a pass from Steve Krause.

Down 2-0, the Eagles struggled to find quality attacking opportunities and settled for shots from distance and the occasional restart chance. Terry Fry gave the home crowd something to cheer about when he connected on his third of the year in the 18th minute. The senior forward took a pass in wide space from Braden Gross. After a quick move to beat the initial defender, Fry cut quickly and fired a rocket to the upper left corner of the net to cut the Bulldog lead in half.

That goal seemed to the Eastern team, who has struggled to score goals over the last several weeks, a momentum boost, but DeSales turned the tide with a restart goal just ten minutes later. Dustin Sturm served a ball from the right corner onto the head of Jonathan Balfour. The Conestoga High School graduate powered the short header just under the bar to bump the visitor's lead back to two.

Undaunted, the Eastern team continued to work and earned a corner in the 36th minute. Faro drove the ball to the back post, and Kyle Hurst out-dueled his defender for the ball and buried it in the upper portion of the net. With the DeSales lead cut to one, the game returned to the midfield, and neither team was able to find chances over the last eight minutes. 

DeSales held a 9-5 edge in shots over the first 45 minutes. The Hurst goal gave the Eastern staff and team encouragement going into the extended halftime. Neither team was able to get a great chance in the early part of the half, but the Eagles began to seize control of possession and territory as the clock moved toward zero.

Even with the advantage in possession, the Eagles seemed to struggle to find the final pass, and it seemed that the game might go down as another frustrating one-goal loss. The Eagles, however refused to surrender. Eastern Head Coach Mark Wagner said of the day, "We needed this. You begin to worry that the guys will stop believing in each other. They didn't today, and I think a win like this can be something that can be a turning point." 

The tying goal came on a brilliant sequence in the 81st minute. Hurst found the ball on the left flank with his back to the corner flag. The junior midfielder looked back at his left back and rolled a blind heel pass through a defender's legs and into Fry's path. Fry took space, earned the endline and dropped a ball into the scoring area. Hurst raced onto the pass and cracked a right-footed blast into the left corner to tie the match.

Both teams hit four shots in the second half, but the Eagles had momentum and the home crowd behind them going into extra time.

Overtime was more than any fan could hope for. The Eagles had six corner kicks in an end-to-end high-paced eight plus minutes. It looked as though the Eagles were going to win it on a corner in the 96th minute when senior center back Mike Leitzel snapped a powerful header to the left corner, but a DeSales player blocked the ball with his chest and another back cleared the ball out of danger. 

Just over a minute later, the Bulldogs almost found the win on their only corner of the overtime. Jon Crowder made a tremendous sprawling save to shut down the first shot, but the rebound bounced to another DeSales player who hit the ball over Crowder and toward the left upright. Dan Shields was in his spot and reacted well to keep the game alive with a critical save. 

Eastern found the game winner in the counter. A restart allowed Fry to find a little room on the left side. He made a quick move to his right foot and ripped a blast into the under side of the crossbar. Faro reacted quickly and blocked the ball home to lift the Eagles to the win. With the victory, the Eagles improve to 1-1 in Freedom Conference play.

They return to action against a much-improved Delaware Valley squad in Doylestown on Tuesday afternoon.