FREDERICK, Md. – With all three goals between the teams scoring within the first 20 minutes of the match, the men's soccer team outlasted Eastern on the road 2-1 to keep their playoff hopes alive on Saturday afternoon.
Inside the Box Score
Jonathan Fuentes (Hagerstown, Md./Oakdale) scored his second goal of the season.
Aidan Wright (Ijamsville, Md./Oakdale) scored his fourth goal of the season on three shots. Wright now has three game winning goals this season.
Cristian Topovich (Frederick, Md./Oakdale) notches his first assist of the season.
Adam Labows (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown) made eight saves on the afternoon to keep the Blazers out of harm's way.
How it Happened
Eastern struck first just three minutes into the contest when Zach Sievert finished off a setup from Ethan Pfau to give the Eagles an early 1-0 lead. Goalkeeper Labows made the adjustment thereafter and came up with two early saves to keep the deficit at a single goal.
The Blazers responded midway through the opening half. In the 15th minute, Topovich on a quick turnover on possession fed a through ball to Fuentes past multiple defenders to knock pas the keeper in stride for the equalizer, leveling the match at 1-1.
Less than five minutes later, Hood took the lead and never looked back as Wright capitalized in the 20th minute, entering the box and making a move to score the unassisted goal to put the Blazers in front 2-1.
Hood continued to pressure the Eastern defense throughout the first half, recording 10 shots before intermission while carrying the one-goal advantage into halftime.
The second half featured strong defensive efforts from both sides. The Blazers generated several quality opportunities, including shots from Fuentes and
N'Tony Kalala (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora), but Eastern goalkeeper Michael Arcuri kept the Eagles within striking distance with multiple saves.
Eastern pressed for the equalizer during the final 20 minutes, but Labows stood firm in net. The Hood goalkeeper stopped five second-half shots and finished the day with eight saves, helping preserve the conference road victory.
Analysis
Hood finished with a 19-14 advantage in shots.
Labows outmatched Arcuri of Eastern in saves 8-7.
Notes
Hood improves to 7-8-1, 3-3-1 in conference play and now sits in the No. 4 spot of the MAC Commonwealth Tournament with one game to go.
Eastern falls to 7-4-4, 2-3-1 in conference play and sits outside the bubble.
Up Next
The squad will wait to play their final match of the regular season until next Saturday, October 31 at 3 p.m. against Neumann. Follow updates on the athletic website or any @hoodblazers social to keep up to date on postseason status, the team currently sits inside the five-team field.
