The American University men’s soccer team (5-5-9, 4-2-3) fell in a Patriot League semifinal match to the Bucknell Bison in penalty kicks on Nov 12.
American opened their season going winless in the first five games, including a loss at home to nationally ranked No. 17 Hofstra. During this time the offense struggled, managing to create 20 shots during the five games, and only mustering 2 goals, one put into their own net and one by graduate defender Cooper Nunn.
The Eagles revived their offense over the next two games as they picked up a 2-0 win over the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds in their Patriot League opener on Sept. 14. They backed that up with a 4-3 win over the UMBC Retrievers.
After the game, senior Mustapha Sowe said “we kinda had a slow start [offensively]... we’re getting it rolling and I think once the goals start coming more will follow.”
American’s next test was a five-game span, which included a four-game road trip, including three Patriot League opponents.
Before they hit the road, the Eagles were stifled at home by the Bison in a tightly contested and uneventful game. Their road trip opened at VCU, in which sophomore defender Ian Webb-Johnson scored his first goal for American as each team canceled each other out.
American then split consecutive Patriot League games away at Army and away at Lehigh. Senior forward Dilane Zouantcha scored a brace to help American win 2-1 in West Point. The Eagles were level with the Mountain Hawks entering the second half. Then in a span of 25 minutes, Lehigh scored three straight times, giving them a 3-0 lead. Senior forward Sam Hershey tallied his second of the season to prevent American from being shutout.
Their final game of this road trip was a game in Charlottesville, Virginia, to take on the Virginia Cavaliers. Junior midfielders Toshi Davis and Troy Elgersma each scored to give the Eagles a 2-1 halftime lead. Similar to the Lehigh game, Virginia scored 3 unanswered goals, which ended up giving them a 4-2 victory. American’s record fell to (3-5-5), as they entered the home stretch against four patriot league opponents.
American finished the season strongly with victories against Lafayette and Navy, and draws with Holy Cross, and Patriot League favorite Boston University.
Overall, American finished the season with a record of (5-5-9) and clinched the No. 3 overall seed in the Patriot League Tournament.
The Patriot League quarterfinal game was a 4-goal thriller vs Loyola Maryland which was decided on penalty kicks. In the fifth round of the shootout, Loyola missed their penalty, which opened the door for Nunn to slot home a goal to send the Eagles back to the Patriot League semifinals.
After the game, head coach Zach Samol praised his team’s response to the adversity they’ve faced so far this season.
“I’m pretty proud of the group… finding a way to get into the Patriot League tournament, clinching the No. 3 seed, and finding a way to battle through tonight after the equalizer,” Samol said.
The Eagles then went on the road to face the Bucknell Bison, with the chance to go to their fourth championship game in the past five years. As one would expect, this game with a spot in the Championship game on the line was hotly contested. Bucknell got off to a great start, earning a penalty within the first 20 minutes of the game, which Bison midfielder Jack Lucas converted, giving the Bison a 1-0 lead.
The second half was a different story, as American managed to hound Bucknell’s goal in search of an equalizer. In the 68th minute, senior forward Hershey notched in his team-high 6th goal of the season making it a 1-1 game. In the second overtime with just seconds remaining, graduate midfielder Ethan Boyle’s shot flew over the crossbar with the chance to win the game.
For a second straight game, this would require penalty kicks. The Eagles went toe-to-toe with the Bison, bringing the penalty shootout to an eight-round. The Bison scored, which meant that senior defender Taku Takahashi had to score to keep the penalty shootout going. Even though he sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, his shot went wide of the post, meaning that for the second straight year the Eagles were eliminated via penalties.
Troy Elgersma was named Patriot League Offensive Player of The Year finishing with 3 goals and 7 assists leading the team in points. He and Nunn were named to the All-Patriot League First Team. Boyle and Hershey were named to the All-Patriot League Second Team.
The Eagles will add six new recruits next season as they look to get back to the Patriot League Championship next year, as they return to playing on Reeves Field once again.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Delaney Hoke and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Emma Brown, Sabine Kanter-Huchting and Nicole Kariuki.
