Hard Working Eagles Nearly Upset Manhattan Christian
Kansas City, MO - Eagles kicked off their second ever Midwest Christian College Conference (MCCC) tournament in Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday against the #3 seeded Manhattan Christian Thunder. The Thunder, ranked 10th in the nation in the NCCAA Divison II most recent poll, had bested the Eagles 5-0 two weeks earlier in Manhattan and the Eagles were anxious for an opportunity to put up a better showing.
The opening minutes of the game saw the Eagles jump on Manhattan. In just the second minute, Joe Olson (#3) settled a bouncing ball at the top of the box, which he managed to tap to charging defender Elijah Barsness (#1), who put the ball away for the 1-0 lead.
As if woken from slumber the Thunder began to knock the ball around, developing their characteristic, yet dangerous, attacks down the flanks. The Emmaus back line was up to the test, however, and won cross after cross out of their own box. Barsness came up big again in the 11th minute, this time in the defensive third, when he cleared a header off the goal line. The two teams battled back and forth for the remainder of the half with Manhattan knocking at the door, but unable to convert as the 1-0 score stood.
The Eagles continued their scrappy defense in the second half even as they looked to counter and add to their lead. Manhattan, taking advantage of its deep bench, sent wave after wave of fresh attackers at the exhausted Emmaus defense. In the 75th minute, the Thunder finally found a crack and capitalized when speedy midfielder Graham (#20) put away a bouncing ball in the box, following multiple initial deflections.
With the game knotted at a goal apiece, the Eagles pushed to regain the lead. They were nearly rewarded in the 78th minute when Joe Olson won a ball in the box, cut to his left, and saw his shot catch between the legs of outstanding defender Sam Heryford (#3). Five minutes later, in the 83rd minute, Manhattan finally cashed in for good when goal scorer Graham (#20) received a back door pass on the right flank and delivered a perfect cross to forward Lewallen (#14), who headed the ball home.
The final minutes of play saw Emmaus push to equalize, but Manhattan's speed and control paid off as the exhausted Eagles just couldn't come up with a good scoring opportunity. The final score of 2-1, though disappointing, was a great improvement for the Eagles, who were just minutes away from the huge upset.
"I couldn't be more proud of the guys. We came out hard, we challenged all game long, we played excellent team defense, and we were so close! The guys fought so hard and I think exhaustion just got the best of us as Manhattan was able to keep some of their strong players fresh. Hats off to them for sticking with their game plan and earning the win. I don't think they will be likely to overlook us in the future!" (Coach Brown)
The Eagles will be back in action tomorrow in the consolation bracket against either Calvary Bible College or Faith Baptist Bible College. The winner of the match will play for 5th place on Saturday morning (October 23rd) at 10:30 AM.