Emmaus Gets Job Done Versus SLCC
St. Louis, MO - After a long weekend on the road, the Emmaus men's soccer team made the long trek down to St. Louis, Missouri yesterday to take on the Soldiers of St. Louis Christian College.
In what would prove to be a sloppy start for both sides, the Eagles struggled to gain control of the ball and keep their shots on frame. The Soldiers, on their part, created several dangerous breaks, but failed to convert. In the 26th minute, Eagle Joe Olson (#3) finally managed to convert when forward Kyle Pikaart (#11) won the endline and delivered a perfect pass on the ground for an assist. At eight minutes the Soldiers were called for a questionable foul in the box and Joe Olson calmly stepped up and put away the penalty shot for his second goal of the game. The remainder of the half saw both teams continue to duel as substitute keeper Gabriel Salinas (#5) was forced to step up and make a crucial save on a breakaway. The Eagles entered the half with a two goal lead, but aware that they had dodged some bullets.
The second half saw the Eagles finally begin to settle down and control possession of the match. In the 56th minute, Kyle Pikaart got a goal of his own when Tyler Tucker's (#20) ball rebounded off of a Soldier defender and straight to Pikaart's feet for the finish.
After several other close calls, the Soldiers were finally rewarded for their own persistence when Senior midfielder Javier Morris (#10) found teammate Gregory (#17) on a perfect through ball. Gregory sealed off a defender and managed to beat keeper Salinas to the far post.
It was then the Eagles' turn to respond as Anthony Flores (#10) played a perfect layoff pass to Elijah Barsness (#1), who fired a rocket into the side netting in the 73rd minute. Just a few minutes later, the Eagles nearly added to their lead when Barsness found Eli Goija open in the middle. Unfortunately, Gioja saw his one touch effort bounce off the right post, across the goal line, off the far post, and back out.
In the 88th minute, Flores and Barsness hooked up again when Joe Olson tapped a free kick to Flores, who sent in a perfect cross to the back post where Barsness rose above the defense and calmly headed the ball home.
The 5-1 score-line stood as the Eagles earned their fourth win and second conference win of the season. The Eagles outshot the Soldiers 36 to 11 and earned 9 corner kicks on the night.
"I can't say it was the prettiest game we have ever played, but the guys got the job done. They finished when they needed to and our defense kept the Soldiers contained for long periods of play. It was nice to be able to rest some guys and rotate positions just to try out a few options moving forward. As an added bonus, it is always a pleasure to play with the guys from SLCC. My hat off to Coach Jon Michael Brown for his work with the Soldiers. It is obvious he has a heart for discipleship and I respect the way he encourages them to play hard without sweating the small stuff. I hope he stays around for a long time."
The Eagles will use the next week to rest and get healthy as their next match will be at the MCCC tournament in Kansas City, Missouri on October 22nd-24th. Almost certainly in the sixth seed, the Eagles will await this week's conference matches to find out who their opponent will be.