Matenaer Strike Seals Emmaus Victory
The Emmaus soccer squad travelled to Moberly, Missouri to take on the Saints of Central Christian College of the Bible in their final regular season conference match of the season. The Eagles, rested and healthy, were looking for their third conference victory in order to seal the #4 seed for the conference tournament to be help in Moberly the following week.
The Eagles got off to a great start when Brandon Young (#13) was fouled in the box in the 4th minute. For the fourth this season Carson McBain (#11) stepped up and buried the penalty to give Emmaus a one goal lead. Minutes later Young looked to double the Emmaus lead when he received a ball on the wing and sealed off a defender only to see his shot sail wide. The rest of the half saw several great opportunities for the Eagles who struggled to beat strong Saints keeper Lance Patrick. For their part, the Saints created a few good scoring chances of their own, but the Emmaus defense held firm.
The second half saw both teams battle for control of the midfield even as both defenses looked unsettled at times. With four minutes to play senior Logan Matenaer (#7), who had played excellent defense in the midfield, stepped up to seal the game. When an attempted clear bounced off his chest, Matenaer quickly settled the ball on the top of the 18 and fired a shot with his left foot into the right upper 90 give Emmaus the 2-0 lead.
The final minutes were tense as Emmaus looked to preserve the shutout. With two minutes to play the Saints gave themselves a lifeline when the Emmaus back line failed to clear a ball from the box. Winger (#2) stepped in to win the ball and fired a shot from eight yards out, narrowly beating Eagle keeper Rasmussen (#00) into the back of the net. Still clinging to their one goal lead, the Emmaus defense settled in and repelled the Saints pressure until the final whistle blew.
"That was a tight game from start to finish," said Coach Brown. "The Saints have made some changes and showed great improvement down the stretch of the season. They put forth a great effort today and it kept us on our toes all match. Their Coach, Brent Messimer, has done a great job working with them and I can see them being a real handful at the conference tournament next week. As for our guys, it wasn't the prettiest game, to be sure, but we did some things well and held on in a tight match. More than that, they really kept their heads today and were a great example of unity and Christlikeness. That was some sweet fellowship on the field and I am excited to see all the teams get together next week at the conference tournament.
The Eagles finished up their regular season at 5-7-1 and will take on the Eagles of Faith Baptist in the 4/5 match on Thursday the 20th with kickoff set for 4:00. The game will mark the Eagles 3rd match of the season against Faith in what should prove to be another great battle.