Eagles MSOC Falls to DII Southern Wesleyan in Home-Opener

Waleska, GA - Coming off a 1-0 loss against #5 Dalton State, Frankie Ruiz's Reinhardt Eagles were looking to make a statement in their home opener against NCAA DII, Southern Wesleyan.

The game started rough for the Eagles who conceded an early goal from Tipton Wright's first chance of the game which came from an intercepted clearance that left the midfielder in acres of space.

Reinhardt didn't see their first sniff of the opposition goal until a great play from substitute Christain Fowler was able to find some space down the right wing. The Warriors once again increased their lead with a low strike, through traffic, from right outside the box into the near post 16 minutes into the game.
With 11 minutes left, Escobar's slick dribbling earned the team a freekick from 30 yards out which he hit just wide.

Reinlights of the First Half:
-Jay Santos and Mabuya's work rate through the middle.

-Jaiden Sosa's control of the ball in the backline.

-Christain Fowler's creative ball movement.

Reinhardt started the second half at full go with a nice run from John Simmons who exploded into space before getting his shot deflected. They would keep the pressure on with more dynamic runs of play and solid defending led by captain, Ivan Patta. Unfortunately, the dam would break once again as Southern Wesleyan would score off of a peach of a free kick that culminated in a flicked-on header nestling into the bottom corner. The rest of the half proved rather uneventful as both teams failed to create any clear chances. Southern Wesleyan ultimately won 3-0.

In the end, this will serve as a learning experience for an inexperienced team. It can only get better from here.

Reinlights of the Second Half:
-John Simmons putting Southern Wesleyan on skates down his line.

-Cristian Gonzalez tackling and ball retention.

-Eber Sosa setting the pace of the game.

Up next for the Eagles, will be playing at Point University on Tuesday, August 27th, at 7:30pm.