Consider this first-ever Ashland-Malone GLIAC men's soccer match something like Columbus introducing himself to Magellan.
Two explorers trying to read the compass and figure out exactly where they stand, that might be a good way to view AU's 2-1 victory over the Pioneers on Friday night (Sept. 14) at Ferguson Field.
This is Malone's maiden journey through the GLIAC. While the Pioneers have played some of the GLIAC teams in the past, this is the first year they are a conference member. AU is experienced within the GLIAC, but may not know as much about Malone as the rest of the conference. Also, the Eagles (3-0-1/2-0 GLIAC) are still trying to learn about themselves.
On this night, the Eagles discovered that they can still win when they don't play their best.
"Malone played a good game in the midfield and made it difficult for us," said AU head coach Jon Freeman. "Sometimes we were our own worst enemy. They punished us once in the mid field and almost did it twice. They are definitely a much better team than last year. They walk away thinking maybe they deserved a little bit more."
Before the match, Freeman said the Pioneers (0-3-0/0-2) were much better than their record indicated. That wasn't idle chatter by the AU coach. The Eagles took a quick lead when senior Andrew Over (Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary) scored his first goal of the season at 5:56. Sophomore forward Adam Mitchell (Brighton, England/Brighton City College) got the assist on the play.
The Pioneers didn't falter after falling behind. Instead, they regrouped and with some crisp passing and strong play in the midfield, started to put pressure on the Ashland defense. That finally paid off for the Pioneers when Sam Tonelli scored his first goal of the season at 26:05. The teams went to the break tied, 1-1.
"Once we scored the goal they woke up and played better," said Freeman. "Once they scored we didn't raise our level. You have to match the other team's energy."
Although Malone continued to play well in the middle of the field, the Eagles did increase their level of efficiency early in the second half. Max Rohda (Powell, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) made an excellent cross into the mix in front of the goal that turned into an own goal that gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead at 54:03. AU could easily have scored once or twice more if not for the work of keeper Felipe Monteiro. He had five saves and a couple were highlight reel material. He rebuffed Mitchell on a breakaway with 23:45 left in regulation and turned away a blast from Keiichi Nguyen (Welllington, New Zealand) with 8:16 to play in the game.
"Adam Mitchell, I thought he was a handful tonight," commented Freeman. "I thought our back line for the most part played very well. I thought Max Rohda did a great job going forward and causing problems."
Malone did manage a couple of runners late in the game that were foiled, but as Freeman pointed out, the Pioneers weren't able to penetrate deep into the box very often. Only the midfield belonged to the visitors. AU led in shots, 20-13. In shots on goal, AU had a 7-6 edge. The Eagles piled up a 7-2 spread in corner kicks.
"I think they brought a lot of energy to the midfield," explained Freeman. "They had a lot of one- and two-touch passing. That's what we teach our players to do, play quick. We suffered in the first half because of it."
The Eagles have played their last two games at home and have won both. Now comes a quick turnaround and a fierce foe – on Sunday (Sept. 16) the Eagles play at Saginaw Valley State. The Cardinals are considered to be as good a team as the GLIAC has to offer this season.
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