Glidewell Brace Sets Tone In Eagles Final Regular Season Match

The Emmaus men's soccer team played their final regular season match at home on Saturday afternoon against the visiting Sentinels of Nebraska Christian College. The game marked the first official meeting of the two teams in history.

The Eagles got off to a great start when senior forward Nathaniel Glidewell (#17) won a header off of a long throw from Carson McBain (#11) that found the back of the in the sixth minute. The Eagles nearly added to their lead on several other occasions, but Sentinel keeper Chayanne Peralta (#00) was up to the challenge, making a great foot save in the 16th minute.

The Sentinels saw some life in the 23rd minute when an awkward bounce in the Emmaus box hit the elbow of an Emmaus defender, resulting in a penalty. Luis Lemus (#8) stepped up and buried the penalty to tie the game at ones.

"I won't lie, for a brief second the thought crossed my mind 'here we go again'," said Coach Brown. "We have outplayed teams on several occasions this season only to fail to capitalize on opportunities and then to give up goals against the run of play. I was really interested to see how our guys would respond. They did not disappoint!"

Rather than hang their heads, the Eagles just stepped up their game. Senior defender Elijah Barsness (#1) struck first in the 29th minute, settling a deep corner ball neatly and blasting a low show into the far corner to regain the lead. It was Nick Fairley's (#9) turn in the 36th minute as he settled a ball behind the Sentinel defensive line and slotted a shot home for the 3-1 lead. But the Eagles weren't quite finished with the half. With seconds left on the clock, freshman Tyler Jenkins (#6) received a ball up the wing and sent a cross in to teammate Neal Johnson (#4) who knocked the ball home with one second left on the clock for a 4-1 half time lead.

The second half saw the Eagles continue to press the Sentinels, and just as he started the scoring, Glidewell ended it for the Eagles in the 53rd minute when he settled a ball at the top of the box and fired a shot into the upper 90. With the score at 5-1 Emmaus settled in and possessed for much of the half, creating a few good chances without capitalizing. The final score stood as Emmaus wrapped up their regular season with a convincing win.

"Our guys really played well and showed their maturity today by not letting the Sentinels goal unsettle them. The Sentinels have some talent, and they were short-handed today, making their job even tougher. I was impressed by the way they conducted themselves despite some adversity. As for our guys, it was great to see a variety of players get involved in the scoring and to see the team continue to defend well as a unit. I can't wait to see them in action at the upcoming conference tournament. The tournament is very wide open this year, with any one of the six teams capable of beating any one of the others. Should be a blast!" (Coach Brown)

The Eagles will travel to Joplin, Missouri to play in the MCCC Conference tournament hosted by Ozark Christian College. The Eagles earned the #2 seed and a first round bye after earning 3 regular season conference wins. They will play the winner of Ozark Christian College and Faith Baptist Bible College on Friday, October 27th at 3:00 pm.