By Amanda Jones
Contributing Writer
After suffering a 3-1 loss in their first soccer game this season against the Uni- versity of Saint Francis, the Eagles were determined to put a mark in the win column on Friday night at home against Kentucky Wesleyan College. Despite the Panther’s solid defense, they couldn’t hold the Eagles. With a 3-1 victory, Asbury snatched their first home win and im- proved their record to 1-1.
Physical play and ruthless defense by both teams in the first half made it diffi- cult for either team to score. At 31:52 in the first half, Asbury Eagle Austin O’Brien passed the ball to Kentucky native Jesse Peterson for an open look at the goal. The Eagles got on the board, putting Asbury on top 1-0. The Eagles’s defense kept the Panthers scoreless in the first half and forced them to go into halftime down one goal.
Kentucky Wesleyan came into the second half ready to play. A little over 10 minutes into the second half, Panther midfielder Ryan Brewer managed to get the ball past Asbury defense and scored Kentucky Wesleyan’s first goal of the night. The Panthers and Eagles remained
tied at 1-1 through most of the second half before Asbury opened up the score with two goals in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Jesse Peterson scored his second goal of the night with just 7:18 left in play. The sophomore from Nicholasville, Ky., put the Eagles up 2-1. Just 2:32 after Peterson’s last score, junior Billy Congleton passed to freshman Austin O’Brien for a goal, putting the Panthers down 3-1 with just 4:46 left in the game.
Determined to earn their first victory, the Eagles continued physical play and tough defense for the remainder of the game. The Eagles’s defense proved to be too much for the Panthers, and they re- mained scoreless after 34:38 in the second half. Though the Eagles may be nursing some bruises after being pushed around on Friday, they pushed harder and sent Kentucky Wesleyan home with a loss. The Eagles’s record improved to 1-1 as they fought hard to earn their first victory of the season by a score of 3-1.
The men’s soccer team played against Trevecca Nazerene University on Tuesday