Eagles Blank Calvary for Regional Win
ANKENY, Iowa—The Faith Eagles men's soccer team blanked the Calvary Warriors, 4-0, in the opening round of the NCCAA North Regional Tournament Thursday afternoon at Pyche Field in Ankeny. The win pushes the Eagles into the semifinal round against #1 seed Providence on Friday at 2:00 p.m.
Chase Clark put the Eagles on the board first with a goal at the 26:26 mark of the first half, assisted by Nathan Stupka. It was the only goal of the half for either team in the bone-chilling cold. It was 27 degrees, game-time temperature.
The second half was mostly an offensive struggle for the Eagles, with the score remaining 1-0 with just ten minutes remaining. At the 80:57 mark, Faith broke the drought with a fast-break goal by Kent Hurlbert, who weaved his way around several defenders to give the Eagles a two-goal cushion. Faith scored two more times in the final two minutes, with goals from Brett Larson (unassisted) and Justin Frerichs (assisted by Hurlbert).
The Eagles' defense was stout once again, pitching its third shutout of the season. Faith has allowed one goal or less ten times this year.
Friday's semifinal game against Providence will be a challenging one for the Eagles. Providence is ranked #4 in the nation in NCCAA Division II.