The Eagles won their first Patriot League game of the season in dramatic fashion, earning their game-winning point in double overtime to defeat the Holy Cross Crusaders 3-2.
Senior Christian Robs broke the deadlock when he unleashed a flying volley off a deflection that beat the goalkeeper and found the back of the net.
“I’ve been playing football ever since I was young in the streets of Greece, I think that was the craziness from there,” Robbs said. “Running around, playing 5-on-5, [the goal] was pure imagination.”
During halftime, AU commemorated the 2004 Varsity soccer team, who won the Patriot League championship and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Eagles also celebrated the life of the late Shawn Kuykendall, who was the 2004 Patriot League offensive player of the year and graduated from AU in 2005. Kuykendall died from a rare, incurable form of thymic cancer. In his honor, the team wore commemorative jerseys that had “Kuykendall” on the back.
The Eagles (7-2-1, 1-1-0 PL) started slow and conceded the first goal of the game after only 14 minutes of play. Holy Cross freshman midfielder Justin Cafora received a pass from sophomore forward Joey DeVivo, navigated through multiple AU defenders and slotted it home past junior goalkeeper Dylan Hobert to put his team ahead.
AU equalized in the 36th minute after sophomore forward Jake Garcia rebounded a shot from sophomore midfielder Panos Nakhid. Holy Cross (3-3-2, 1-1-0 PL) junior goalkeeper Kevin Wright made a great save on Nakhid’s shot but was unable to stop Garcia’s blast from three yards away.
Although the score remained tied 1-1 at the half, the stat sheet showed AU in control. THe Eagles outshot Holy Cross 15-3 and held the advantage with two corners to none.
Both teams started the second half strong, and they each attempted numerous close shots on goal. Despite numerous free kicks, AU struggled to pull ahead in the game until the 72nd minute, when Holy Cross committed a handball inside the 18-yard box, allowing another free kick. Junior midfielder Liam Robley calmly stepped up to the spot of the handball violation, and he hammered the ball home to give AU the lead.
AU continued to dominate possession, but Holy Cross never let up. Just six minutes after AU took the lead, the Crusaders drew a free kick that translated into their second goal. Junior defender Diego Ceron played a ball to the far post where senior defender Will Bowers picked it up and launched a shot past Hobert.
Each team had a couple of chances at the end of regulation, but the score remained tied, and the game headed to overtime.
The Eagles found the winning goal in the second half of a 20-minute overtime period when Robbs’ critical goal ended the game.
“With the wind and the sun in the keepers eyes, all I told them was to serve balls, shoot and follow, and anything can happen,” head coach Todd West said. “I think that set up Christian’s finish. What a goal to end it on.”
The Eagles picked up their first win of conference, but West still sees room for improvement.
“I told them [the team] that the win was huge, but we gotta clean things up in the back and Dylan needs to be more decisive,” West said. “We have some things to clean up for Navy on Wednesday.”
The Eagles head to the Naval Academy on Wednesday, Oct. 8 to take on the Midshipmen.
