Men Earn 6th At National Tournament

The Eagles entered the 2015 NCCAA D2 National Tournament as the #6 seed and were paired with #3 Dallas Christian College in a rematch of the 2014 ACCA Tournament Finals which Dallas won 3-1.  The scouting report on Dallas said that they were a much improved team over a year ago with a great deal of speed and individual skill.  Dallas turned out to be an exceptional team with all those attributes and more as they put Faith under pressure and did not relent until they had a commanding lead.  The scoring started in the 7th minute as Dallas scored off great combination passing inside the 18 yard box and finished with a powerful shot.

A few minutes later Dallas was awarded a penalty shot which went off both posts but never crossed the line keeping the game a 1-0 but with Dallas in clear dominance of the game were finally rewarded in the 27th minute as a free kick deflected off an Eagles defender leaving goalkeeper David Levy helpless as it crossed the line.  Levy was able redeem himself with several brilliant saves to keep the score at 2-0.

Dallas came out of the halftime with a ton of energy despite the heat and humidity as they got behind the defense twice in the first three minutes of the half to go up 4-0.  The defense responded by limiting the Dallas' opportunities from that point on, but the damage was done.  Faith was able to possess the ball more effectively the final 25 minutes, but with the game out of reach two more games in the mid-day Florida heat the Eagles cleared the bench and gave everyone on the roster the opportunity to play in the National Tournament.  That experience turned out to be very important as those same players were called into action the following day in a much more competitive game.

In the Eagles second match of the tournament was against the #7 seed Hillsdale Freewill Baptist College of Moore, OK.  Hillsdale came off a heartbreaking overtime loss to the eventual national runner-up Moody Bible Institute from Chicago,IL.  The Eagles were able to respond from their loss as they put Hillsdale under a great deal of pressure from the opening minutes and finally capitalized as captain Andrew Young made an unbalancing run across the 18 yard box and received the ball at the corner of the 6 yard and then played back into the space he created for Joseph Frerichs to power into the net to give the Eagles the lead in the 26th minute.

The tide quickly turned as Hillsdale started dominating possession and creating dangerous scoring opportunities that were turned back by solid team defending a amazing goalkeeping.  Levy was put to the ultimate test just before halftime as Hillsdale was awarded a penalty kick.  Levy read the kick perfectly as he kept the well-struck shot from going into the top corner with potentially one of the most important saves in school history.

The Eagles were able to hold onto the lead going into halftime but it seemed to be short lived as Hillsdale scored in the opening minute of the second off a great series of passes, but the goal was called back due to offsides.  Faith was kept under pressure,  forced to defend much of the first ten minutes of the second half but Nick Paine stole the ball and passed it Cole Glanzer to start a quick transition.  Glanzer drew multiple defenders as he carried the ball near midfield while conference MVP Chase Clark raced down the wing unmarked, Glanzer played the ball into Clark's path and he put it in the net for his 17th goal of the year.

After playing back-to-back games in near 90 degree heat and high humidity Faith was forced to turn to their bench as injuries and fatigue mounted.  "I was very happy with the work of our subs who had limited playing time much of the season, but when we needed them the most they stepped up and helped us preserve a very important win".

The Eagles relentless team defending and David Levy's amazing goalkeeping were able to preserve the 2-0 victory and put Faith in to the 5th place match against Midwest Christian College Conference champions Manhattan Christian College.

Manhattan was competing in their 19th consecutive NCCAA national tournament and were a familiar opponent to the Eagles as they had played twice previously this year.  Faith one the first match 1-0, Manhattan took the second in penalty kicks at the conference tournament after the team's were tied 0-0.

The game was expected to be a closely contested and very defensive and it met everyone's expectations.  The Eagles possess the ball well and had dangerous combinations in and around the 18 yard box but failed to get shots off before Manhattan's defense closed them down.  Manhattan was able to build up effectively but many of their shots were well off target or were routine saves for Levy.  Manhattan did create a few dangerous moments for Faith as they got the ball to the end line and played it across the front of the goal, but a very disciplined Eagles team was able to recover into position and get the ball cleared each time.

The game was tied 0-0 after 90 minutes with Manhattan leading in shots but Faith with several very dangerous opportunities late in the game.  In the first minute of the overtime Manhattan was able connect several passes together and stretch Faith's defense leaving just enough space for the attacker to turn and place the ball just out of the reach of Levy.

The loss resulted in a 6th place finish, tied for the best finish at a national tournament in school history.  At the conclusion of the tournament after a brilliant tournament in goal, sophomore David Levy was named to the All-Tournament Team, joining four-time All-American Clifton Barth as the only other Eagle to earn this recognition.

The Eagles history year led to eight team and five individual school records being tied or broken including fewest goals allowed (19), lowest goals against average (0.9 goals/gm), highest winning percentage (.786), most wins (16, tied 2003), fewest losses (4, tied 1975, 82, and 83), most shutouts (10, tied 2010, 13), most wins to start a season (7), and most regular season wins (12).

Chase Clark moved into a tie for 5th place for points in a season (46), in a tie for 7th for goals in a season (17), and moved into second place for assists with 12 on the year.  Joseph Frerichs also recorded 12 assists, tying him with Clark for second overall, and Cole Glanzer moved into 11th all-time with 9 assists. It was a monumental season as the Eagles went 16-4-1 on the year, winning their first region championship since 2006 and finishing with an amazing opportunity to compete with the best Christian college teams in the country in Florida.