The weather wasn't the only thing hot this weekend, as the Men's Soccer team defeated the Army Black Knights, 2-0 Saturday on Reeves Field. Junior Andrew Herman, who scored a goal and registered an assist on 12 shots, led AU offensively. "Andy was very good today," Head Coach Todd West said. "He creates a lot of chances. When he's playing well, his pace is real tough to deal with." The Eagles got on the board in the fourth minute as Herman drew a crowd of Army defenders and delivered a pass to freshman Garth Juckem, who tallied his first goal of the season. That goal set the pace for the game as the Eagles tightened up on defense and didn't allow Army to attack. With the score still 1-0 in the 17th minute, AU junior goalkeeper Thomas Myers made a difficult save on a one-on-one opportunity. He then got rid of the ball quickly to junior midfielder Charlie Koniver, who set up Herman for the second AU goal a minute later. "That [save] was a huge play for us, because it turned out to be a two-goal difference," West said. "If they score there, we're in for a dogfight the whole game." While Herman was the offensive star for the Eagles and Myers was solid in goal, the best game came from AU junior midfielder Shawn Kuykendall, who continued his stellar play. "Shawn's kind of like a point guard on the field for us," West said. "He came up big today." The Eagles dominated the shots on goal, getting off 16 against Army 'keeper Matt Wesmiller, while the Knights only managed six for the game. The key to the Eagles' defensive domination was their midfield play, anchored by Juckem, Kuykendall and sophomore Gordon Templeman, whose physical play earned him a yellow card but sent a message to Army as he took control of the midfield all game. The win comes at a great time for the Eagles, who improved to 7-8-1 overall and 2-4 in the Patriot League. While not mathematically eliminated from PL playoff contention, gaining a berth is unlikely. However, the Eagles could still qualify for the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team. Even if no postseason is in the future, West sees reachable goals for this team. "We think we're a winning team and I want us to get to .500," West said. West's Eagles will finish up their regular season when they host the Lafayette Leopards Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. A win would even their record at 8-8-1 and lead them into next year on a winning note.
