On a damp and dreary afternoon at Reeves Field Wednesday, the AU Men's Soccer controlled play through most of their clash with Loyola. But it took a single flash of brilliance from sophomore midfielder Salvatore Caccavale to ensure that the match ended brightly for the Eagles.
Caccavale scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 72nd minute on a world-class 25-yard strike that swerved inside the left post and past Loyola 'keeper Justin Chelland.
The blast not only broke a 0-0 deadlock, it quickly erased memories of senior midfielder Shawn Kuykendall's missed penalty kick just four minutes earlier, which at the time looked like it would haunt the Eagles later on.
Instead, the Eagles rode the momentum of Caccavale's goal and scored another through senior forward David Marut six minutes later to dispatch the Greyhounds 2-0 and push their unbeaten streak to six games, having tied once at Princeton in that stretch.
"It obviously crosses your mind," that the missed penalty will bite you, said AU head coach Todd West. "But this has been a group of guys that says 'Screw it. There are no excuses. We're going to make it happen on our own."
While it wasn't a Patriot League competition, Wednesday's win may have crucial implications for the Eagles. The Greyhounds (7-5-1, 5-0-0 in the Mid-American conference) will likely repeat as league champions, securing a birth to the NCAA tournament. Should the Eagles (9-4-2, 4-0-0 in the Patriot League) not take care of business in the PL, wins such as this against a regional tournament team could help their case for an at-large bid.
Perhaps more importantly, the win keeps the Eagles rolling as they prepare for a visit from defending PL champions Bucknell on Sunday.
"Bucknell ended our season last year," said Caccavale, referring to a regular season loss at the Bison, which eliminated AU from contention for a PL tournament slot. "To put five goals in on them wouldn't be enough. We've got to put a hurting on them."
Caccavale certainly put a hurting on the Greyhounds.
After spending the opening third of the match on the bench as result of the game not being a conference match, the meddlesome midfielder entered just before halftime, and gave the greyhounds fits all afternoon, both by taking shots and creating chances for teammates.
Then, he created something out of nothing. After receiving a pass from sophomore midfielder Nathan Baker with his back, Caccavale turned and juked left, eluding two Greyhound defenders. With a few feet of space and the ball on his left foot, he tried his luck, and seconds later AU had taken the lead.
"I've had a few chances to hit some balls from outside the box," Caccavale said. "I just caught this one right. It was one of the best goals I've ever scored."
Caccavale then started the play leading to Marut's match-clincher, driving a long free kick from the left wing into the box. The Greyhound defense cleared the ball only as far as sophomore midfielder Cocoa Del Rio, who quickly spotted Marut dashing toward the left post. Del Rio picked out Marut, who then neatly touched the ball inside the right post and around the charging Chelland.
Marut, who hadn't scored in AU's first 12 matches, now has three goals in three games.
"On the wet field, Dave Marut just pounces on it, and calmly tucks it away," West said. "I think three weeks ago that might not have happened."
While the Eagles deserved the win, the result was a cruel one for Chelland, who was stellar in goal, making 11 saves during the match. Meanwhile, AU started freshman Chris Sedlak in goal instead of senior Thomas Myers, mainly to rest Myers for Sunday's big PL match, West said.
Junior midfielder Freddy Llerena also broke into the starting 11 for presumably the same reason, while sophomore midfielder Lucas Dowiak and Del Rio saw more time than normal.
The Eagles will be showing all their cards on Sunday, however, when they take on the Bison at Reeves Field at 1 p.m. While the Eagles are motivated partly by revenge, the Bison, at 2-2 in the PL, are fighting for their PL playoff lives.
