The men’s soccer team traveled to Erie, Pennsylvania twice over the weekend, first to take on Gannon Friday and then No. 6 Mercyhurst Sunday. The Eagles came away with a draw and a loss in the two games and were unable to score. Ashland has scored just one goal the past five games.

Gannon (3-4-0)

Ashland and Gannon played 110 minutes of scoreless soccer Friday, but not for a lack of chances. The Eagles finished with 18 shots to the Golden Knights’ 13, but the game was dominated by the goalkeepers.

Ashland junior Justin Nolan had four saves before having to leave the game at the 94 minute mark due to injury, his replacement, junior Kurt Innes, had a save in 16 minutes of action and Gannon’s Michael Kickel had five saves.

Many of Ashland’s best chances came towards the end of the game. Senior Kenny Hewitt put a well-hit shot on goal at the end of the second half that was saved and had another shot whiz over the top corner of the frame. Gannon had a shot in the second overtime that hit the crossbar.

“I am happy with how we played,” Ashland head coach Jon Freeman said. “We stuck to the game plan, had a lot of enthusiasm and we created many quality chances. I am disappointed as is the team that we did not put a few away.”

The game was the second in a row that Ashland has played without junior defender Jamie Dollar, who remains sidelined with an injury.

No. 6 Mercyhurst (6-1-0)

Nolan joined Dollar on the disabled list for Sunday’s game against Mercyhurst. The Eagles showed heart, but were unable to overcome two first half goals that came within a minute of each other, conceding once more in the second half to lose 3-0.

Despite making their second bus trip to Erie in three days, AU looked the better team for the first 23 minutes. It was at that point, however, that the Eagles faltered, giving up two goals in the 24th minute.

Nate Stern scored the first one, slotting a shot into the lower right corner after beating two defenders. Oliver Page, who assisted the first goal, scored one of his own 41 seconds later, receiving an Austin Solomon cross and rifling it to the top shelf.

“We had the run of play up until that point and then they punished us because of our own mistakes,” Freeman said. “We got caught twice not transitioning well from attack to defense. Their goals were quality finishes and they worked hard for them, but we were our own worst enemy.”

Mercyhurst’s Billy Colton put the game away in the 59th minute when he received a through ball from Fernando Martinez and slotted it just inside the left post.

Despite the loss- the team’s fourth in five games, Freeman feels that his team has what it takes to get back on track.

“We are gaining confidence in the system we are playing and I believe we will get even better,” he said. “When some of our injured players get back on the field, we will be even stronger. We have not put our head down in defeat yet and I do not expect us to do that now. The conference is still wide open.”

If the Eagles want to compete at the GLIAC tournament at the end of the season, they are going to need to start getting results soon. Ashland has three games left on the road before returning home on October 14. The first two of those games will take place this weekend, when the team heads to Michigan to play Northwood (5-0-0, 3-0-0 GLIAC) Friday and Saginaw Valley State (5-1-1, 2-1-0 GLIAC) Sunday.

Ashland currently sits in sixth place in the GLIAC standings with a record of 1-2-1 and 2-5-2 overall.