Mountaineers fight back but can't get over Hill

The Eastern Oklahoma State College Men's Soccer team fought back from a 1-0 deficit but dropped a tough decision to Hill Community College on Tuesday at the Mountaineer Soccer Complex.

The Mountaineers dropped to 0-2, 0-0 in the Region II conference.

PLAY BY PLAY
- Hill took the lead midway through the first half on a shot from just outside the box.
- Eastern responded after the break with some adjustments and scored their first goal of the year on a follow up by Christian Fresquez off a shot by Jose Maria Ruarte.

- Marc-Antoine Huzen was big once again in goal, helping to keep the score close with seven saves.

- In the 67th minute, Hill went in front for good and put the game away 10 minutes later with a third goal with Eastern pushing forward for the equalizer.

Head Coach Jon Evan was measured in his remarks after the game 

"We learned a lot about ourselves in these first two games. We knew coming into the season that we were going to play a nationally-competitive NJCAA schedule. We learned that we can play well and not get a result and we learned that we can play poorly as we did in the second half against Hill and we can still be in the game according to the scoreboard. Our team is progressing and we were competitive against two teams that I expect to make the NJCAA national tournament this year. We have goals to be right there with  them.  In order for this to happen, our leaders have to hold us accountable to a standard of performance especially when it comes to defending and effort plays. In the second half we were punished for our poor effort at times and were looking for excuses or for the officials to bail us out. All the credit goes to Hill for a mature performance and taking us out of our game,"  Evan said. "Nontheless, we are heading in the right direction. Our schedule is crowded, and as our fitness is improving and we have players working their way back from injury, we can't make excuses. We have to continue to build trust in each other and everyone needs to be willing to step up and contribute to winning. There is a lot that goes into our success and if we keep at it, our efforts will pay off and produce the results we want."

GAME NOTES
- The Mountaineers took 10 shots and put three on frame.
- Huzen once again had seven saves in the game.
- Sophomore Christian Fresquez scored his first career goal, Eastern's first of the season.

Eastern travels to Kansas on Thursday, Aug. 30 to take on Cowley Community College at 7:30 p.m.