2012 was the last time the Ashland University men’s soccer team took to Ferguson Field. Three years later, and the Eagles have returned with 23 new faces, a new head coach and their first home win of the season, 2-0 over the Northern Michigan Wildcats.

Both the campus and the AU community filled the stands in support of the men’s first comeback game and head coach Oliver Slawson said it was the energy from the crowd that the team fed from.

“It was a positive night all around and obviously people look at the score but it was more than that,” Slawson said. “It was getting soccer back on campus and bringing the community and the students out and the guys responded to that.“

Although this is the Eagle’s first home game of the season, they are coming back from a 2-1 away win over Daemen College while the Wildcats went into the game 0-1.

15 minutes into the game assisted by junior Darren Burns, freshman Clemente Gomez-Morey set the tone scoring the first goal of the game. Eagles led the Wildcats 1-0 with 35 minutes left in the half.

Following his lead, freshman Thomas Pearson scored a goal for the Eagles, making the score 2-0.

The Eagles maintained full control throughout the rest of the first half and although the Wildcats did have chances to score, they were not able to execute.

Their strong offensive start in the first half was followed by strong defense in the back half for the game lead by senior goalie Nick Ciraldo. Despite Northern Michigan’s stronger offensive mindset in the second half, it was not enough to surpass the Eagles.

“When we got the ball, we have 11 guys that are going to move the ball forward and when we don’t have it, the 11 guys are all working to get it back,” said Slawson. “It is a team effort and we are only going to get better the more we get accustomed to each other. 

Although the Eagles also did not score in the second half their work in the first 25 minutes of the game carried them through and led them to their victory.

“We are young and we have only been together for four weeks, but it’s a good start,” said Slawson. “But it is only a start. There is still a lot of room for improvement and work to do.”

This was not only a memorable night for the currently AU team, but also for some members of AU soccer’s past. At half time, the AU Athletic Department honored AU soccer alumni who came for the premiere of the 2016 soccer season.

The Eagles will be back at home Wednesday Sept. 14 and will look to face the Lake Erie Storm at 7 p.m.