Life University Athletics

LEBANON, Tenn. --- The Life University men's soccer team stayed on the road for their second contest of the year and found a similar result, defeating former conference rival (RV) Cumberland University by a score of 2-1 Tuesday afternoon.
 
The Running Eagles (2-0) stayed on the right side of the win/loss column in what was a hard-fought contest against a team that qualified for nationals last year, while Cumberland (0-1) starts their year with a loss.
 
The stat sheet reflected how evenly played the game was, the teams tying at 11 shots each, while Life U held a slight advantage in shots on goal at 6-4. The Phoenix held a small edge in saves, 4-3, and also received more corner kick opportunities, 6-3. As is usually the case in a meeting between the Running Eagles and Phoenix, it was a physical contest, the teams being assessed 32 total fouls and 11 total yellow cards. Life U found themselves on the wrong side for both fouls, 19-13, and cards, 6-5.
 
The Running Eagles came out of the gates quickly, taking advantage of early opportunities as a free kick ended in a Lars Van der Steen goal assisted by Dave Star in the 17^th minute, while less than 10 minutes later Ole Kuperus netted a kick that was assisted by fellow freshman Jaime Gonzalez to take an early 2-0 lead. In the middle of Life U's two scores, Cumberland received a penalty kick opportunity, but Luka Zakarija came up huge getting the save to keep the Phoenix off the board. Zakarija staved off another attempt in the final minutes of the first half to send the teams into the break, Life U leading 2-0.
 
It was not until 30 minutes into the second half that Cumberland finally got on the scoreboard, pulling within a score at 2-1. The Running Eagles turned up the intensity even more over the final 15 minutes of play, only allowing one shot from the Phoenix, while the Running Eagles kept up the pressure offensively on their way to the 2-1 win.
 
Head coach Alex Pama was impressed with the way his team fought for a win against a top-level NAIA program, "It was a hard-fought battle all the way through versus quality competition. The games between our two universities are always close and this time we ended on the good side of the score." Looking forward to their next game and the rest of the season he said, "Now we prepare for another quality team next Monday. The lads are getting used to college soccer in America and this is great to watch."
 
The Running Eagles stay on the road for their next game, facing instate foe, Reinhardt Univ. Aug. 29 at 7:30 PM.