WILKES-BARRE, Pa.– In a rematch of last year's conference championship match, Eastern University Men's Soccer (5-6-1, 1-0)opened the MAC Freedom season with an important 1-0 win at King's College (8-3, 0-1).
Aidan Link scored in the 74th minute and
Anthony Hitchcock made five saves to earn the shutout.
How It Happened:
In a match with great significance, neither team was able to establish much of an offensive rhythm. The Monarchs had a 6-1 edge in first-half shots, but the hosts tried to score from distance and the only two shots on frame in the half did not test Hitchcock.
As the match progressed, both teams had numerous restarts and long throw attempts. The Eagles found the only goal on a restart from near midfield.
Matthew Mitchell served a long ball into the box that the King's goalkeeper attacked. HIs punch, however, did not clear the box and Link won a header near the penalty spot. He nodded the ball into the open goal for his third tally of the year.
Hitchcock made two saves in the final ten minutes of the match to secure the win.
Coach Payne Says:
"[It was a] Very good result for our program today. It is very tough to get a result and King's is a very tough place to play. It is a very fast surface and it always seems to have a lot of contested balls. We mentally prepared for this and made necessary adjustments to handle it, but it was still hard. It was a choppy game."
"I believe that King's had the better of the play and won the territory battle in the first half. I wouldn't say we outplayed King's by much in the second half but the game was being played in their half more."
"We did a great job seeing the match out after scoring. We are very excited to get a shutout and to start the conference at 1-0."
Up Next:
The Eagles have another tough road test at Franklin and Marshall. The No. 4 Diplomats improved to 10-1 with a win at Swarthmore today. Eastern beat F & M in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last fall. The Eagles will then return home for a homecoming match against DeSales next Saturday.
