The men's soccer team started the season off strong with two wins: 6-2 over Marian University (Wis.) on Saturday afternoon and 1-0 over Mississippi College (Miss.) on Sunday. The Eagles hosted the Sonny Carter Invitational this past weekend at the Woodruff P.E. Center (WoodPEC) and raised their record to 2-0-0 on the season, completing their sweep for the tournament cup. Mississippi College finished in second place, Oglethorpe University in third and Marian University (Ind.) in fourth. This is the Eagles' 10th win of the Sonny Carter Cup in 13 seasons.
In the first game, junior forward Dylan Price scored twice for the Eagles. The first goal came in the 26th minute of the game off an assist from sophomore midfielder Monish Lahiry, striking in the opening goal of the contest, and then again in the 49th minute, with assists from freshman forward Darion Morgan and senior forward Andrew Jones. This is the fourth multiple-goal game of Price's career.
In the 74th minute of play, Danny Heerhold from Marian scored off the crossbar followed by David Reinke's free-kick goal in the 76th minute of play. In spite of that, the Eagles still came out on top with two late strikes in the game. In the 86th minute of action, sophomore defender Matt Sherr had a header off a corner kick from Lahiry, and 35 seconds later Jones scored with assists from sophomore midfield Sebastian Hardington and junior midfield Michael Rheaume.
The Eagles had 33 shots with 16 on goal while Marian was limited to three shots with only two on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Abe Hannigan played the first 76 minutes in goal, earning the victory for the season opener.
Freshman goalkeeper Alexander Herbets' collegiate debut for the team included 14 shutout minutes in net to finish off the win.
Sunday's contest started 45 minutes late after lightning in the area forced a two-hour and 45-minute delay.
Price cemented the win and the Sonny Carter Invitational Championship for Emory with a penalty kick in the 60th minute, for his third goal of the season.
Price was the tournament's leading scorer and was named Most Valuable Player. The All-Tournament team also included Emory players Sherr, Jones and junior defender Noah Rosen.
Price's opportunity for the penalty kick came after a scoreless first half after Mississippi College committed a heavy foul against Emory freshman forward Jason Andrejchak inside the 18-yard box.
Price converted the penalty kick, giving him his ninth game-winning goal and moving him into fourth place in school history.
The Eagles had 13 shots with five on goal and the Sabres had seven with three on goal. Emory's defense also played an outstanding game throughout allowing only seven shots to the Choctaws on net, with just three on goal. Hannigan earned the second-straight day win, recording his first shutout of the season and fourth of his career.
"We had a great first two games," freshman Ben Murray said. "Two wins at the beginning of the season is huge. Hopefully we'll be able to keep this going the rest of the season."
Additionally, Murray commented on the positive team camaraderie.
"The freshman class has gotten along really well, and the team has accepted us," he said. "We have great potential and hope to have an amazing year."
The team hits the road for a three-game trip beginning Friday at Averett University (Va.).
– By Liza Atillasoy
