The second season is a time for second chances. That's the way the AU men's soccer team looked at Tuesday's (Oct. 30) matchup against Northwood in the first round of the GLIAC Tournament. The game was played on Northwood's home field in Midland, Mich.
The Eagles gave it a spirited go on Tuesday, taking a 1-0 lead at the 6:20 mark on freshman Eric Ashley's (Akron, Ohio/Coventry) fifth goal of the season. Ashley scored from 14 yards out on a breakaway. The assist went to senior Andrew Over (Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary's). The goal was Ashley's team-high fifth of the season. Ashley, who also ends the year as the team's points leader (12) has established himself as one of the top newcomers in the conference.
Ashland made that lead stand up until Sam Nair got the Timberwolves on the scoreboard at 46:09 with an unassisted goal. The goal was Nair's 10th of the season. He is tied for second in the GLIAC in goals.
The teams finished regulation deadlocked at 1-1. Northwood earned the right to advance when Nick Brokman scored his first goal of the season at 98:33, pushing a shot past AU keeper Justin Nolan (Medina, Ohio/Medina Highland). For much of this season, Nolan has been able to stop just about everything that's come at him, he's tied for second in the conference in saves (84). Nolan had eight saves against the Timberwolves.
For much of the second half of this season, the Eagles have struggled to generate offense and this game was no different. AU had eight shots in this contest. This was the seventh consecutive match where the Eagles were held to a goal or less. The last time AU had more than one goal was on Oct. 7 at Walsh where the Eagles lost, 5-3.
The Eagles finish the season with an 8-7-2 mark. Ashland was the fifth seed in this six-team tournament. This was the third time the teams played this season. The teams split in the regular season.
Fourth-seeded Northwood is 9-6-1 and will play top-seeded Saginaw Valley State on Friday (Nov. 2) on the Cards' home field.
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