Eagle soccer sees men lose and women tie at Findlay

The season draws to a close with the postseason in the eyes of the Eagles

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Jacob Hoffman

Both Eagle teams look to Tuesday, Oct. 25, for the season finale.

Cade Cracas, Sports & Digital Editor

The Ashland University soccer teams traveled to Findlay and left with two different results.

The men’s soccer team looked to protect their No. 1 spot in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, while the women tried to claw their way back to No. 1 as they sit in the No. 2 position.

The men’s team started off their competition with an aggressive and physical first half, something that’s expected from this team.

Defender Francesco Chiappo picked up a yellow card in the 38th minute after picking up two fouls earlier.

The first score of the contest however wouldn’t be scored until the 53rd minute in the matchup.

Oiler forward Brendan Ash connected on the first goal to put the Oilers up 1-0 after a perfect ball from midfielder Christian Palushaj set him up for success.

Just 19 minutes later in the 72nd minute, the Oilers would foul inside the box leading to a penalty kick. 5th-year forward Haruki Kimura took the penalty kick and smashed it into the back of the net in order to tie back up the game at 1 a piece.

In the 79th minute, the Oilers found the back of the net once more with a goal from midfielder Nick McCracken to seal a 2-1 victory.

With the loss, the Eagles fall to 10-5-1 overall on the season and 9-4 in conference play. The loss puts them at No. 2 in the GMAC standings.

The women’s team on the other hand could not find much success breaking away from their 2-2 tie.

While a tie is much better than a loss, the Eagles have now recorded two ties in their last three competitions, pushing them outside of the No. 1 spot in the GMAC standings.

For the first time in countless games, the Eagles went down early 1-0 after a shot from junior midfielder Ellie Tischler found the back of the net.

In the 41st minute, the rotational pieces for the Eagles found their footing with forward Annika Gilson finding the back of the net for her first goal of the season in an important moment.

The game would head into halftime with the score tied 1-1.

In the second half, the Oilers would rebound and score early in the 50th minute. Freshman midfielder Payton Miller secured a goal to put the lead at 2-1 in hopes to upset one of the top teams in the conference.

In the 61st minute, standout forward Bailey Clark found her second goal in two games with an unassisted score to tie up the game at two a piece.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, but fortunately for the Oilers, the game would end in a tie as both teams were unable to capitalize on chances as the game came to a close.

The Eagles move to 12-3-2 overall on the season and 10-1-2 in conference play. They currently sit second in the standings with 32 points.

Both Eagle teams look to Tuesday, Oct. 23 when they take on the Lake Erie Storm at home with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. In the final game of the season, the men’s team will play first, with the women to follow.