The young Eagles surrendered an early goal, and, despite applying pressure for the bulk of the second half, were unable to find the equalizer against a strong Crusader squad.

The lone goal came early, in the 12th minute of play, from a ball that was crossed from the right side of the field in behind the Eastern back line. Eastern goalkeeper Matt Leig kept the score to just one with some fantastic saves in the first half.

With a powerful wind influencing field position, the game had a definite shift at halftime.  The Crusaders had more of the ball for the first 45 minutes, and they were able to generate four shots while the Eagles were not credited with a first-half shot.  Play more than balanced out in the second half along with the wind, and the Eagles presented much more of an offensive threat.

“I was proud of the way our young guys played today. We had maybe six or seven freshmen on the field at one point during the second half. We created a lot of opportunities but lacked the urgency we needed to finish,” said Head Coach Mark Wagner.

Several of the best opportunities came from restarts. Susquehanna committed 13 fouls in the second half but “it seemed like we felt as though the goal was going to come to us instead of making it happen for ourselves. Susquehanna is a very good team. We had the better play in the second half and forced them to foul us,” continued Wagner.

The Eagles were in the match until the final whistle, with several young players showing promise in the attack. Wagner took encouragement from the positive direction of the second half, and he expressed a firm belief that today's early season test would prove to be important in the maturation process for his young team.

The Eagles will play Wesley College in the consolation game of Alvernia's Tournament Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Wesley tied the hosts, but fell in penalty kicks in the other opening round game.

Box Score