Eagle Reserves Open Season With Big Win at Oglethorpe
It was a beautiful night under the lights and a dream start for the Reinhardt men's soccer reserves, as they opened the 2019 season with a victory over the Oglethorpe reserves by a final score of 2-1.
The victory puts the reserve Eagles at 1-0.
"This was a tremendous college soccer match. Oglethorpe's Reserves had a great team and they really pushed us for 90 minutes," reserve head coach Zack Schultze said. "I was very pleased at the way our guys responded to the challenges they faced tonight. They battled hard for the entire match – this was a great team win."
Oglethorpe opened the scoring with a goal in the first 10 minutes of play, but the Reinhardt reserves would not be intimidated by the early goal, as Sean DuMond was able to get in behind the Stormy Petrel defense thanks to a long pass from sophomore defender Zach LaRocca. DuMond kept his composure and rifled a shot into the top right corner of the net to draw the match level at 1-1.
The next 70 minutes were a back and forth affair as both teams' defenses came up with multiple stops throughout the match to keep the score tied. It wasn't until the 88th minute that great team pressure by the Eagles caused a giveaway that set up junior midfielder Devon Dyck with a chance that he couldn't pass up. Dyck was able to control the ball at the top of the area and fire the winning goal off the left post and in; securing a 2-1 victory for the Eagles.
"Sean and Devon, along with many others, have been part of this program since it started up two years ago. They've consistently shown dedication to their development and most importantly to their teammates. I'm very proud them for their commitment and couldn't be happier for them for what they did for us tonight," Coach Schultze said on the two goal scorers.
Junior goalkeeper Nick Schierle and freshman center back Dimitrius Lewis both played standout roles as the Eagle defense shined throughout the night.
"Nick came up with some huge saves today to keep us in the game. He controlled his box well and was quick off his line. He had a fantastic game," Schultze said. "I also want to highlight the performance of Dimitrius tonight. It's been a while since I've seen such a dominant performance by an individual throughout an entire 90 minutes. He was a machine on defense for us tonight."
The Eagle reserves return to action with their home opener on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Ken White Field at University Stadium. Come out and support!