Eastern University's men's soccer team rounded out a victorious homecoming day with a 3-0 win against the Colonels of Wilkes University. After a dreary week of weather and quality of play, the Eagles returned to true form, connecting passes and finishing a trio of sharp goals.
Sean Bonner started off the scoring for the Eagles in the 17th minute. The Sophomore midfielder was on the end of a nice combination from Ben Faro and Braden Gross at the top of the box, he quickly turned and hit a low ball into the left corner of the net.
"I thought our speed of play and our quality of play off the ball both dropped after the first goal," said Head Coach Mark Wagner. "But I was happy for getting the first goal of the game; that's what we wanted to do today, score first and last. They did both and they got the shutout, so we're very happy with the win."
Despite finishing the first half at a slower pace, the Eagles (7-3-1, 2-0 Freedom)returned for the second with a nose for the goal. Gross led the charge. In the 47th minute, the junior forward made a hard run to the goal where classmate Josh Martin was serving a low driven ball. He flicked the ball with his left foot right inside the left goal post in what looked like a powerful Cruyff.
"Josh worked really hard to get that ball there," said Gross. "He made a great run and when you work that hard, something good is going to come out of it. I knew the ball was roughly behind me, so I just wanted to get something on it."
Gross found himself in another optimal scoring situation in the 85th minute when senior midfielder Phil Mantua slotted him a beautiful ball. Twelve yards from the goal, Gross composed himself with a quick turn and a powerful shot into the left side of the net.
"My first thought was, 'Am I on[side]?'" said Gross. "Then I thought, I just have to get it past the keeper. Phil was trying to play that ball all day; it finally clicked on that goal."
Junior keeper John Crowder efficiently handled everything that came into his box. He only recorded a pair of saves, but he fielded several balls well and was a threat with his distribution.
The 3-0 result earned the Eagles their second straight conference win. But a win against Wilkes means more than that to this team.
"We have a lot of respect for Wilkes," said Wagner. "They have beaten us the past two years, so it felt good to win. But, we need to keep our speed of play up after we score. Our upperclassmen need to recognize it during our games."
Next up for the Eagles is a home game against Manhattanville on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m.
"Tuesday's game is huge for us," said Wagner. "We are tied with Manhattanville for the top spot in the conference right now and last year they took the title. We need to play together, as a unit for the whole 90 minutes."
Box Score
