ST. DAVIDS, Pa.— A seventh-minute goal proved to be the difference as Eastern University Men's soccer pressed forward but could not find the equalizer in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to the visiting Messiah University Falcons.
Ty Bleiler made seven stops and gave the Eagles several chances with his distribution and solid set pieces late.
Messiah (4-7-2, 1-0-1) took the lead on a brilliant strike off a cross from the left side. Davis Padgett had perfect timing on his run to the back post and hammered home a volley from nine-yards out. The Falcons nearly doubled their lead on a ball off the crossbar in the 12th minute.
Through the rest of the half, the Eagles (3-8-1, 0-2) absorbed pressure.
Haroon Husseini,
Mauro Lence, and
Evan Cope troubled the Messiah back row on the counter-attack, but without the ability to generate numbers, they struggled to generate genuine chances in the run of play. A few fouls in gave the Eagles opportunities on restarts, but the Eagles could not get a shot on frame in the half.
Zach Sievert had a shot that looked on target blocked by a great defensive header late in the half.
The Eagles took on a different posture after the intermission. With
Osmond Chan moving back into the midfield, the Eagles spent more time on the ball and in the Messiah end. While the Falcons still had more of the ball, Cope, Lence, and Sievert put the guests' back row under pressure in transition and the Eagles were able to build and get numbers forward.
As the half progressed, the Eagles found more and more opportunities. Bleiler came forward to serve several dangerous balls on restarts.
Matthew Capuano and Chan each had chances sail high in the final ten minutes.
Eastern's best chance came very late. After a long clearance from Bleiler, and a brief attack from Lence,
Manny Pak picked up a loose ball on the left side. and curled a cross to the back post. Sievert, who had been running for 89 minutes and 45 seconds, leaped for the header, and got it toward goal, but he was unable to generate the power on the shot to beat the Messiah goalkeeper or to get it in the right location. The Eagles raced to put a corner kick in play, but time expired before Joåo Tarabal service reached the box.
"Both my legs cramped as I jumped," Sievert said after the match. "If we get that chance five minutes earlier, I think I could have gotten there."
The Eagles will face a tough non-league test on Tuesday when they host Washington College before returning to the MAC Commonwealth with a game at York next Saturday.
