Reinhardt Stands Tall Over Tennessee Wesleyan

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

ATHENS, Tenn. – A monumental conference clash between the Eagles and Bulldogs didn't disappoint Wednesday afternoon in Tennessee, as both teams fought to the end to stay perfect in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play.

This day belonged to Reinhardt, however, as the hometown squad suffocated Tennessee Wesleyan en route to a 2-0 shutout on the road to improve to 9-0 on the year and stand alone at the top of the league standings.

"It was a very difficult match today as expected against a top-quality opponent on the road," lead Eagle Joey Johnson said. "I appreciate the hard work the players put in for each other for 90 minutes."

The highly-contest affair was very physical in nature and the winning club would seemingly have to take advantage of opportunities when they became available. One of those occasions came in the 16^th minute when Gian-Luca Fahling played the ball in over the top for a breakaway and Aaron Whitten flopped it over the goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead.

The Eagles would continue to play with heart and aggressive defense, consistently frustrating the powerful Bulldogs, and getting more chances to score on the other end. Pavel Dashin helped get Reinhardt another tally at 33:33 when he found Sergio Cristaldo in a crowd with a touch pass for a 2-0 advantage.

The pair of netted shots would be all the scoring on either side the rest of the way.

Johnson's group would put the clamps down on Tennessee Wesleyan and hold its host to 12 shots – four of which were stopped by Niko Tzevelekos.

The Eagles would also register 12 shots in the matchup. Rafael Pais and Dashin had four and three of those, respectively.

Tune in Sunday afternoon as the hometown club looks to finish the fall season undefeated against AAC foes.

Kickoff on the road against Milligan (Tenn.) is at 4 p.m.

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