ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Soccer closed the 2021 spring season with a 1-0 home loss to the visiting Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks. Before the game, Eastern honored
Sam Sutherland for his four years in the program. Sutherland scored the game-winner in a 1-0 win over Frankline & Marshall to send the Eagles to the Sweet 16 in 2018.
The two squads played an evenly matched first half. The visitors had the better of play through the opening ten minutes, and
Riley Porter was called on to make a pair of early saves and protect his box. As the half progressed, however, the Eagles gathered momentum and established rhythm and field position through effective play in the midfield and on the flanks.
Nik Kokolios had a volley from the top of the box that required a solid save, and the Stevens' defense turned away quality serves on several restarts.
Just after halftime Sutherland had one of the best chances of the second frame following a well-textured pass to the flanks from Gabe Velazquez. The senior winger took the ball on the left side and cut it back to his right foot. His hard-bending cross caught the inside of the back post and spun out.
The Ducks found the lone-goal of the match just before the hour mark. An inswung corner from the left side found its way inside the back post without touching another player.
The Eagles continued to probe for chances, but despite several assertive tactical changes, they were not able to get in behind the last row of Ducks.
With an incredibly young roster, the Eagles finish the spring at 2-2. Coach Brenner and the team are looking forward to welcoming several new faces into the squad for a challenging schedule and full slate of MAC Commonwealth games in the fall.
"Today was a really exciting game to be part of," Coach Breener said after the match. "I thought both teams played at an extremely high level. We focused a lot on doing the little things better all week leading up to the match, and we did them to perfection throughout the entirety of the game. I'm so proud of this group and all that they have had to overcome these past 13 months."
