Eagles Win Conference Tournament in Exciting Fashion

Ankeny, IA - Faith was victorious last weekend in the Midwest Christian College Conference tournament, which the Eagles hosted. Faith entered as the #1 seed and backed up that seeding with an exciting win in PK's over #3 Manhattan Christian. Faith advanced to the championship on Saturday with a win over #4 Ozark on Friday.

Against the Ambassadors of Ozark, the Eagles dominated possession to start the 1st half. It did not take long for the Eagles to get on the scoreboard as forward Parker Lundberg, in the 19th minute, scored a difficult header off of a free kick from center back Micah Horner.  While the Eagles still had the upper hand, the Ambassadors were able to hold them scoreless in the remaining 25 minutes of the 1st half. The Eagles went into halftime leading 1-0.

In the 2nd half, the flood gates opened for the Eagles. Midfielder James Busenitz scored two goals, one in the 48th and another in the 62nd minute. Freshman forward Elliot Adomeit got in on the scoring action as he poked in a goal off of a beautiful through ball from midfielder Josh Forgie, extending the Eagles lead to 4-0. While the Ambassadors managed to score off of a late penalty kick in the 88th minute, the Eagles' dominant possession and ability to finish in the final 3rd led them to a convincing 4-1 final score and a berth into the championship game. 

Saturday's final was a familiar foe in Manhattan Christian. In their previous meetings this season, the Eagles defeated the Thunder 3-1 and 3-2. In last years' MCCC finals match, the Eagles defeated the Thunder 2-1, so the Thunder were hoping to bring the championship back to Manhattan. The temps were in the 30s and the wind chill was in the 20s making conditions difficult for a championship match. Nonetheless, Eagles fans packed into Pyche field to support their team. 

The 1st half started in the Eagles' favor. It did not take long for them to get on the board. In the 13th minute, forward Josh Forgie scored a difficult header from a beautiful cross that was sent in the box by forward Chris Barnette. The Eagles looked like they wanted to win as they played sharply and tactically sound. They went into halftime leading 1-0. 

The 2nd half was a different story. The Thunder woke up as they played harder and dominated possession. The Eagles held on for a while but not long enough as midfielder Cristian Gutierrez, in the 78th minute, scored off of a cross from Chris Smith II, knotting the match at 1-1. Neither team was able to score in the remaining 12 minutes and regulation ended tied 1-1. 

Both overtimes were scoreless as both teams, exhausted and beat up from the physical game and the frozen elements, could not find the back of the net. So, penalty kicks were next on the agenda and would decide who would win the MCCC tournament title crown. 

Thankfully for the Eagles, goalie Sam Carstensen was up for the challenge and had seen enough. Carstensen blocked 2 out of the 1st 3 penalty kicks sent his way. The Thunders' goalie Hagen Dyer was not able to stop any of the Eagles' 3 penalty kicks as James Busenitz, Josh Forgie, and Moses Amani all made their shots. With the Eagles leading the shootout 3-1, all Carstensen needed to do was stop one more penalty kick. Carstensen pulled off the unthinkable, stopping his third pk of the shootout, and the Eagles fans wrapped in jackets and blankets jumped to their feet in elation as screaming Eagles players rushed the field and hoisted Carstensen in the air. 

In addition to the tournament championship, the Eagles were recognized as the regular season champions and received the conference sportsmanship award. Faith's Chris Barnette, Grant Busentiz, Parker Lundberg, and Josh Forgie were all recognized as 2nd Team All Conference Players. Carstensen, Amani, and Busenitz were all First Team All Conference selections, and Busenitz was also selected at the conference MVP.

This win extended Faith's win streak to 3 and gave the Eagles back to back MCCC tournament championships while improving their record to 13-3-1 (8-1 in MCCC play). The Eagles are back in action in November as they head to Minneanapolis for the NCCAA North Region tournament. Date, time, and opponent is TBD.