Eagles Battle Until the Very End in Double Overtime AAC Loss

Elizabethton, Tennessee - The Eagles were known for their competitive defense this entire season and it showed again in this final game of the 2023-24 season.  The Eagles faced the Buffaloes of Milligan in the opening round game of the AAC Tournament.  It took two overtime periods for Milligan to narrowly move on to the next round winning 1-0.

Jett Carter of Milligan would get the lone goal of the game in the 106th minute of play to close out the season on our Eagles.  Eagles Goalkeeper, Elijah Clark had another amazing game saving 6 from 7 shots on goal and keeping Reinhardt in the game until the very end.

The competitiveness of this game shows how close the teams that made the AAC Tournament really are. In the regular season, the two also battled to a 0-0 tie, and in tonight's game - the same result was there at the end of regulation. The Eagles would battle through the ninety minutes and the full first overtime period before they would concede a goal in the game.  It was a devastating goal that ripped the hearts out of an awesome senior class that provided Eagles fans with great soccer over the past several years.

Team leaders Maxime Correia and Rafael Pais were able to get just one shot each on goal and the other was from fullback, Brady Craig.  Correia and Pais were the team leaders in goals this season.  One cannot give enough praise to this backline defense that helped the Eagles stay in every contest this season. Brady Craig, Raphael Mospanyuk, Ivan Patta, Ian Brunet, and Hayden Adams along with Clark in goal did a remarkable job and no doubt were one of the top defenses in the conference.

Coach Frankie Ruiz made a fast start in his first year as head Eagle of the Men's Soccer Program helping the Eagles tie or knockoff top teams like Dalton State, Life University, and Georgia Gwinnett.  The AAC is a very competitive conference for soccer and the top eight teams were not separated by much in the standings.

The team will be missing many familiar faces when the team starts things back up next August, but they left their mark on the program and set standards for those who come behind them to follow in their footsteps.  Thank you to all the graduating seniors and graduate students who gave such an entertaining season this fall!