With the battle for a Patriot League playoff spot tightening, the AU men's soccer team delivered under pressure, defeating Colgate, 3-1, on Saturday at Reeves Field.
The win over the then-first-place Raiders may have only complicated the standings, pushing the Eagles into a four-way tie for the PL top spot. But for AU, it's a better position than where it started the day; in a three-way tie for the last two playoff spots (PL 3rd and 4th).
"We were playing for our season," AU coach Todd West said of Saturday's contest "I think it showed."
AU jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead when freshman Philip Purdy converted an Eagle corner kick in the fifth minute for his second goal of the season. That goal likely complicated Colgate's strategy, a team not known for going forward.
"It was very important," West said. "By scoring early it makes them come out and play a game they're not comfortable with and it was huge to set the tone. Plus, we needed some confidence after what happened last week so it was a big goal for us."
After Purdy's goal, the AU outshot the Red Raiders 7-2 over the next 22 minutes.
In the 30th minute, junior midfielder Garth Juckem fed surging junior forward Larry Mark, who broke away from the Colgate defense and blasted his fourth goal of the season past goalkeeper Doug Litvack for a 2-0 Eagle lead.
Colgate struck back in the 33rd minute, when Red Raider midfielder Bryant Meckley took a cross from teammate Devin Deane and slipped it past Eagle sophomore goalkeeper Chris Sedlak to cut the lead to 2-1.
Seemingly back in the match one minute, Colgate was dealt a critical blow the next by an officiating decision.
Raider forward Deane clattered into Eagle defenseman Nathan Baker with his head after Baker won an aerial challenge. Baker tumbled and then laid on the ground for several minutes while officials issued Deane a red card, putting Colgate a man down for the final 56 minutes.
How much that changed the match depends on who you ask.
"I thought we were playing very well before that," West said. "And I think they got frustrated from chasing us and he went into a silly foul. I thought it was a justified red card."
In the second half, the Eagles again dominated offensively. And 14 minutes into it, freshman midfielder Justin Turco sealed the match, connecting for his first collegiate goal on assists from Sal Caccavale and Coco Del Rio. That goal stood as the final tally in the contest.
In goal, Sedlak registered five saves, making sure the Eagles would remain in contention for the post season.
"The big thing here today was the fact that our backs were against the wall," Juckem said. "Our season's on the line. You know we lose and it's over. Being 3-8 coming in we still knew that we still had a chance. Our destiny was in our hands."
While AU's 4-8-1 record may deceive opponents, the Eagles say they aren't letting it deceive themselves.
"We feel we're a great team and we can play with anybody in the country," Mark said. "If we play 90 minutes like this, there's not a team that can beat us"
