The stands were buzzing on both sides of the field as the men's soccer team took on Army Saturday for the Patriot League opener. The Eagles conquered their opponent's noteworthy defense for a 2-1 win.
For much of the early half of the game, both teams were locked in back-and-forth play. Both Army and AU had a combined total of only five shots for the first 30 minutes of the game.
It wasn't until the 31st minute that things began to change. Midfielder Phil Purdy took a pass from Daniel Shannon. Purdy sent a low shot flying to the left side of the goal, beating the Army goalkeeper for the point.
The first goal of the game caused both teams to step up their aggression. Within the four minutes following the goal, both sides took turns attempting to gain points.
Karsten Smith shot for AU but was unsuccessful when the Army goalkeeper made a save. Soon after, Army took their turn on goal, but failed when the shot was just wide of goal. Jake Van Yahres of AU responded to his opponent with another goal attempt, but once again could not make contact with the net.
The second half of the game was played out just as strong. Both teams kept up the momentum and continued to trade time on goal.
In the 60th minute, Army took charge and blasted a shot into the Eagles' goal, bringing the score to 1-1.
It was anyone's game, and 70 seconds after Army scored, Eagle David Menzie dribbled the ball up the sideline and passed it to teammate Shannon. Shannon directed the ball into the net, giving the Eagles a 2-1 lead with 29 minutes remaining.
Army was unable to respond successfully to AU, bringing the Eagles' overall record to 4-4-1 and their Patriot League record to 1-0.
American plays again on Tuesday when they host Columbia.
