Missed Opportunities Haunt EC Men's Soccer in 2-1 Loss to Faith Baptist Bible

ANKENY, Iowa — The Eureka men's soccer team came up short to Faith Baptist Bible on Saturday, dropping a 2-1 non-conference contest in Ankeny, Iowa.

A rain delay added an interesting wrinkle to match, but EC now trails in the all-time series between the two squads 2-1-1.

The first half was nearly all Red Devils, outshooting the Eagles 12-5 in the first 45 minutes of play. However, EC found itself behind going into halftime after the Eagles capitalized on a chance In the 24th minute. A slotted cross from Josiah Zollinger found Nathan Stupka in the box, who lofted the ball into the back of the net just out of reach for Eureka goalkeeper Moises Aldana (Spring Valley, IL/Hall).

After a rain delay, the Red Devils came out firing in the second half ,adding 17 more shots for a total of 29 on the game —19 of which were on target.

They outshot their opponent 29-8; however, missed opportunities to finish came back to bite them; the Eagles capitalized yet again, this time on an unassisted effort in the 67th minute by Noah Zullinger, who slotted a goal past Aldana from 20 yards out.

Despite being down 2-0, the Red Devils pressed on and with about six minutes remaining in the game, Eureka's Sam Lin (Seattle, Washington/ Chicago Hope Academy) drew his second penalty of the year, which was converted by Michael Hansen for the fourth goal of his senior campaign. 

Hansen and sophomore midfielder Diego Cintora (Watseka, IL/Watseka) made their presence known as each contributed eight shots, five of which were on target.

It proved to be little too late, though, as the Red Devils couldn't put away an overtime-forcing goal.

The Red Devils will look to bounce back next Sunday when they travel to Hancock, Michigan, to take on Finlandia in another non-conference match at 1 p.m.