Thanks to a beautiful goal from senior Phil Mantua and a stellar performance by junior goalkeeper John Crowder, Eastern University Men's Soccer held on to beat the King's College Monarchs 1-0. The home win secured the Eagles a Freedom Conference playoff spot and was a sweet finish to Senior Day. The Eastern defense had to battle throughout the second half to hold onto their seventh shutout of the year.
"At times in the second half it got overwhelming, but we didn't give in," said center back Alex Schweitzer. "If we would have been able to organize a little bit better I think we could've turned the game around, but we still pulled it out."
King's controlled the action for the first 15 minutes of the game and played predominantly in Eastern's end. The Monarchs earned four corner kicks in 13 minutes but were unable to capitalize. After the 15 minute mark, play evened out and the Eagles settled into a more comfortable zone.
After a bit of offensive pressure, Dexter Lamparter broke down the Monarch defense. The freshman midfielder dribbled around three defenders and slipped a nice square pass to junior Braden Gross. He laid a pass back to the oncoming Mantua who didn't hesitate to rocket the ball toward goal. The shot found it's mark in the upper corner, just past the outstretched arms of the goalie.
"Because today was a day to appreciate our seniors, we told Phil Mantua that he needed to come out and play the best game he ever has on this field today," said Head Coach Mark Wagner. "Then he came away with that goal; it was great."
Eastern continued to carry the play to end the first half, but from the first whistle to begin the second half, they were on the attack.
"We knew they were going to push numbers up like crazy," said Wagner. "A win today was their only chance at controlling their own destiny in playoffs. Now they have to wait and see what everyone else's results are."
Crowder felt the pressure, but he held his ground with six of his seven saves in the second half. He also fielded many dangerous crosses to thwart the Monarch's scoring opportunities.
"They were pressing us at the end," said Crowder. "But I had confidence in our defense. It was great to get the win today for our seniors."
Both Wagner and Schweitzer were impressed by Crowder's play.
"I thought Crowder had to make some nice saves and he played a great second half to keep us in it," said Schweitzer.
With eight minutes left in the game, Monarch forward Joey Bender took a small touch from a free kick and turned to shoot a low bending ball that Crowder scooped up with ease.
"Crowder has a significant quad injury but I thought in spite of that, he was good in the air and played a good game," said Wagner.
With four minutes left, senior Ben Faro cleared a ball off the goal line after a mad scramble in front of the Eastern goal.
No one on the Eagles side could ignore the significance of today's win. Though exciting, the team has another conference game left before the playoffs begin. A win at FDU would secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
"I don't think it will be difficult to focus at all," said Schweitzer. "FDU embarrassed us a little bit last year, so we owe them one."
Coach Wagner feels the same way about next Saturday's match-up.
"We're going away to Jersey for the night," said Wagner. "We've got the bus, the hotel, everything. We get to just leave and be a team for a couple days. I think they'll be nothing but ready. I actually think they'll go crazy. I'm excited."
The Eagles welcome PSU-Abington on Wednesday for a non-Conference match. Game time is slotted for 3:00 p.m.
Box Score
