Men's Soccer Scores Four Straight to Defeat Cumberlands
WILMORE, Ky. – Asbury scored four straight goals en route to a 4-1 victory over Cumberlands (Ky.) on Friday night. The Eagles surrendered the first goal just over five minutes into the match before firing off four straight for their second straight win. This is only the second time the Eagles have won two in a row this year.
Senior Trent Popp started the comeback just four minutes after the Patriots took the lead. Popp, the team’s leading scorer, knocked home his 10th of the season in the 9th minute. He also scored on a penalty kick in the 79th minute to cap off the scoring. Popp becomes the first player in more than 10 years to record two seasons of double-digit goals after producing 22 a year ago.
Chris Israel scored the game winner off a corner kick in the 43rd. Josh Braun fired the ball across the box and Stephen Mitchell got a head on it and was deflected right to Israel who didn’t miss from near the six-yard box. That was the second goal of the season for Israel. Jonathan Rehner added his second just moments later, actually just 1:02 after Israel’s goal. Rehner fired a strike from distance that keeper Dwayne Tucker saw squirt through his legs and into the net.
Cumberlands (7-3-1) scored first as Pedro Antonelli found Joao Ehlers open in the 6th minute. Ehlers beat Dylan Fouts for his third goal of the season. Fouts was a stone wall after that, making four saves including a crucial one in the 77th minute as the match was still 3-1. The Eagles managed only nine shots but were efficient by putting six on frame and scoring four goals. Cumberlands managed 12 shots but only five on target.
Asbury reaches .500 for the first time since they were 4-4-1 on September 22. The two straight wins are the first since opening the season 2-0.
The Eagles will host Cincinnati Christian in a pivotal KIAC match on Tuesday at 7pm before wrapping up conference play on Thursday at Berea. Asbury is currently 0-1-1 in league play while CCU is 0-2 and Berea is 1-2.
