Eastern Succombs to Late Richland Rally

Eastern Succombs to Late Richland Rally

The Eastern Oklahoma State College men's soccer team could not withstand a late rally from defending National Champion and number one ranked Richland JC after a strong first half left the teams deadlocked at 0-0.  Early in the second half, Richland broke the deadlock and scored to go up 1-0. 10 minutes later, Richland raised their game to another level and scored 4 goals in 10 minutes to put the game out of reach. Richland cruised to a 5-1 defeat of the Mountaineers.

Despite the rough patch and being pushed to another level by one of the best teams in the country, Eastern regained their nerve and were able to tally a late goal off the foot of freshmen defender Leo Zabeu.  

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

PLAY BY PLAY

- Richland went ahead 6 minutes into the second half.

- Freshmen goalkeepers Carlos Roberto Dias Neto and Will Wicks both saw action in the contest.

- Freshmen defender Leo Zabeu beat the keeper from midfield with a long-range shot with under 2 minutes to play.

Coach Jon Evan commented:

"Despite our disappointment at the result tonight we can take a lot away from this game.  Our team was prepared and came out and played hard and can be pleased with our first half performance." Evan said. "Richland is one of the best college teams in the country at any level and they showed that in the end.  Our team has lofty goals and if we want to know what it's like to play in a 1 vs 2 game or a tournament final we have seen the level we must play at on both sides of the ball for 90 minutes.  We've got along way to go and we are going to keep progressing." Coach E remarked.

GAME NOTES
- The Mountaineers took 4 shots placing 2 on frame.

- Neto and Wicks combined for 7 saves in the contest.

Eastern is back in action on Sunday, Sept. 15 at 3:00 p.m. when NOC Tonkawa comes to Wilburton to face the Mountaineers for the start of Region 2 play.