After a 1-5 start to the 2024 season, Ashland University's men's soccer team went on a 6-0-1 stretch prior to a 3-2 loss at Tiffin on Saturday (Oct. 26).
So what would the Eagles' response be on Tuesday (Oct. 29) night at Ferguson Field against Malone? A 1-0 victory to get back into the win column and move into fourth place in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference table.
The Eagles improve to 8-6-1 overall and 7-4-1 in the Great Midwest, and 9-1-1 all-time against the Pioneers (4-8-3, 1-8-3). Ashland also has more wins so far in 2024 than it had in all of 2023 (seven).
"We knew this was going to be a tough game," said Ashland head coach
Nick Roberts. "Every other team I've talked to about Malone, they said the same thing – they're tough. We watched enough tape, and we told the guys before the game, 'don't think this is going to be easy.'
"It was on the knife's edge a lot of the game. I think if we finished some early chances, it would have been different."
The game remained scoreless into the second half, but in the 49
th minute, senior forward
Rodri Fernandez scored his second goal of the season on a right-to-left strike. The assists went to senior midfielder
Oliver Lovell and sophomore forward
Sergio Ruiz, both their second of the fall.
"We've got a lot of goals in this team," Roberts said. "He (Fernandez) works very, very hard for us. He's got goals in him, too."
BOWDEN BLANKS PIONEERS…AND THE REST OF THE STORY
- In making two saves on Tuesday, senior goalkeeper Ty Bowden turned in his fifth clean sheet of the season – and lowered his season goals-against average to 1.32.
- Ashland out-shot Malone 18-8 (13-1 in the first half), and the Eagles took nine of the game's 11 corner kicks.
UP NEXT
Ashland's last regular-season home game on Thursday (Oct. 31) at 6:30 p.m. vs. Kentucky Wesleyan (9-3-3, 7-2-3).
"That's not going to be easy," said Roberts. "We want to keep playing."
