GR EYSTON E
Eagles Soccer Team Continues Winning Tradition By Securing ASC Tournament Championship Title As a former Eagles player, men’s soccer coach Aaron Brueckner ’11 understands and appreciates the sport’s rich tradition at the University as well as anyone, and he made sure to convey that tradition and pride to his players at every opportunity. The 2020-21 Eagles lived up to that grand tradition in impressive fashion by capturing the American Southwest Conference Tournament Championship in April by defeating Concordia Texas 3-1 in the title match held at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. And, even though the Eagles have been regular participants in the postseason tournament, it was their first tournament title since the 2003 season. “Our players understand the guys who came before them, who gave their hearts, blood, sweat and tears in building this program,” said Brueckner, who starred for the Eagles from 2006 to 2009. “We talk all the time about what a great tradition those guys helped build and how we don’t want to be the ones to let that tradition down. They wanted to win this championship as much for those guys as they did for themselves.” With the start of the 2020 season pushed back to spring of 2021, the Eagles stumbled out of the blocks, dropping three of their
first four matches of the season. A 1-0 victory over non-conference rival Hendrix College propelled the Eagles on a run as they won seven of their final eight matches on their way to the conference championship. “This team came together and pulled off something so amazing,” said Brueckner, who was named ASC Coach of the Year. “We struggled early in the season but they kept grinding and working and believing in the process. They stayed together and believed in each other, and it was so fun to watch them battle. We definitely peaked at the right time.” The Eagles advanced to the championship match with a pair of thrilling victories in the tournament. First they defeated Mary Hardin-Baylor in a heart-stopping 4-3 penalty-kick victory at Hurie Field. Next they eliminated top-seeded Hardin-Simmons 2-1 on the Cowboys’ home turf in a hard-fought semifinals match. The defense came through to shut down a Hardin-Simmons team that had scored eight goals in its previous two matches. In the championship match against a favored Concordia team, the Eagles got goals from the Haitian trio of Charleus Emmanuel Ritch, Alain Claude and Lorflis Milford and used a strong defensive
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