The American University men’s soccer team (3-3-5) took on the Bucknell Bison (4-4-3) on Sept. 28 at the Maryland SoccerPlex, the Eagles’ temporary home field.
The Eagles entered the game following a 1-1 draw at Colgate on Sept. 21, and a win at home against The University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) 4-3 on Sept.17. Meanwhile, the Bison entered the game after losing to Cornell University on Sept.17 and a draw with College of the Holy Cross on Sept. 21.
This game was hard fought, as neither team managed to produce many clear-cut chances. In the first half, the Bison’s offense got off to a great start, scoring early after an Eagle turnover in the ninth minute. The Bison were relentless with their press, forcing multiple Eagle turnovers throughout the half while American looked to break on the counter. For the majority of the first half the Bison were able to keep the Eagles in their own half.
American struggled to maintain possession in the midfield and failed to carve out any real opportunities to threaten the Bison goal, having not created a single shot on goal during the first half.
The second half was a different story when the game started to open up. The Eagles maintained more possession in the Bison’s final third. The Eagles were given a lifeline in the 78th minute when Bison junior defender Jackson Sullivan received his second yellow card, meaning the Eagles played the final 12 minutes with the man advantage.
Out of the many half chances American created, the best chance of the game came when sophomore midfielder Troy Elgersma’s free kick struck the crossbar as it was heading towards the top left corner.
Despite being up a man, the 12 minutes were not enough for the Eagles to claw back a result against Bucknell. In the end, American had 8 shots with 2 on goal, and Bucknell had 3 shots with all of them being on target.
Despite the tough loss, head coach Zach Samol praised the team’s effort in the second half.
“I think our guys came out the second half more aggressive, looking to push the game a bit more,” Samol said.
He also gave some words of encouragement as the Eagles embark on a four game road trip.
“It’s early, it’s three games in [Patriot League], there’s still so much to play for, and the way we went about things in the second half and take from that,” Samol said.
The Eagles continue their road trip with a visit to the Lehigh Mountain Hawks on Oct. 11.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Delaney Hoke and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Emma Brown and Sabine Kanter-Huchting.
