Men’s Soccer Puts it all Together in Michigan

LANSING, Michigan—A rigorous regular season ended on a high note for the Faith Eagles men's soccer team on a rainy afternoon in Lansing, Michigan, on Friday. Despite the longest road trip of the season, the Eagles had great fan support as multiple players' families from Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio made the fall road trip, which seemed to energize the visiting team against Great Lakes Christian.

It was the fourth road game in a row for Faith, all in the span of seven days. Friday's match came on the heels of a rather lifeless performance in Lincoln, Illinois, against a Lincoln Christian team that didn't allow fans and outshot the Eagles 24-10 in a 3-0 snoozer.

Friday afternoon's regular season finale was delayed by an hour due to thunderstorms that were rolling across the area, and most of the game was played in cool, cloudy, windy, and sometimes misty conditions, but moods were quickly lifted after Joshua Forgie scored an early goal at the 3:29 mark to give the Eagles their first non-penalty kick score in four games. It was a special moment for Forgie, who hails from Montrose, Michigan, and whose family was in attendance. Less than twelve months ago, Forgie was a student across town in East Lansing at Michigan State University.

Forgie's goal was just the spark the team needed, bringing confidence and life back to a team that was mired in an 0-5-1 streak. An early lead, along with the support of the roughly 30 Faith fans in attendance, rejuvenated the Eagles, who scored again at the 20-minute mark on an unassisted goal by Carson Odle, whose family was also in attendance from Ohio.

Faith's 2-0 lead held through halftime and expanded to 3-0 on a Hanan Lindow goal at the 61-minute mark. The Eagles did a great job of controlling possession of the ball and limiting Great Lake Christian's fast break attempts and shots on goal to just two for the game as Faith held on for the 3-0 win. It was the second-most goals scored by the Eagles this season.

The performance in Michigan was the best all-around effort from the Eagles all season. They have played much better than their record of 2-7-1 shows, and a win like this may be just the confidence-builder they needed as they enter the postseason. The Eagles play in the conference championship game against Manhattan Christian College in Manhattan, Kansas, on Friday, October 31 at 2 p.m. The regional postseason tournament begins on November 5 and 6 in Watertown, Wisconsin, where the Eagles will face Maranatha Baptist and Moody Bible Institute, with the chance to advance to the national tournament.