The Eagles defeated the Loyola University Greyhounds on Oct. 29 after a goal from sophomore midfielder Panos Nakhid with just under two minutes left in regulation.
Laim Robley initiated the game-winning goal when his corner was not cleared by the Loyola defense. Nakhid picked up the ball and sent a dribbler that bounced past the keeper and into the net.
Even Nakhid was surprised, because he had no idea that he scored a goal. The whole team celebrated the goal before he did.
“Hats off to Panos that he got his bank account started,” head coach Todd West said, referring to Nakhid’s first goal. “We thought he’d score a lot of goals [this season] so its great that he gets one now, because he’s a pretty technical player for us.”
Unlike past games, the Eagles came out pressing at the start of the game, forcing Loyola to make quick decisions with the ball that led to frequent turnovers. Loyola played with three defenders in the back instead of the traditional four and held a high line, which didn’t leave the Eagles much space in the midfield at the beginning of the game.
“We wanted to play some balls behind their outside backs,” West said. “When their outside guys go, the center backs would have to defend and drop their high line, which would allow us some more room in the midfield.”
The first clear scoring chance came in the first five minutes, when Robley’s free kick from about 25 yards away forced Loyola’s goalkeeper, sophomore Matt Sanchez, to make a diving save. Just over a minute later, sophomore forward Joe Iraola intercepted a pass and dribbled through the Greyhound defense, but his shot went wide.
Despite AU’s chances, the match remained tight, and both teams struggled to create opportunities on the wet, slippery field.
The game went into halftime scoreless, with both teams fighting for an advantage.
Loyola came out of halftime attacking, and they immediately drew a corner kick, which was eventually snuffed out by sophomore forward Dale Ludwig. The Greyhounds also had a handful of counterattacks throughout the second half, but the Eagles defensive line handled all of Loyola’s efforts. Junior goalkeeper Dylan Hobert was not called on to a make a save.
Both teams played a very physical matchup with 23 total fouls, with 16 of them called on Loyola. With about 10 minutes left in the game, Loyola sophomore defender Dolu Oyewole took down Ludwig in the box, but the referee did not call a penalty, which infuriated the AU bench.
The referee’s call ultimately didn’t matter, however, as Nakhid eventually scored the match winner. AU left the game with three points and a firm grip on third place in the Patriot League.
West was satisfied with the win, but he is now looking forward to facing conference leader Boston University on Saturday.
“We’re playing on turf on Saturday, so the game will be faster,” West said. “We need to keep the ball and be technically sound.”
The Eagles return to Reeves Field on Nov. 5 for a non-league matchup against Princeton University.
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