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By Amanda Stowe |
The 2014 Nike Portland Invitational hosted four men’s soccer teams this past weekend, Aug. 28-31.
On Friday, Aug. 28, the Pilots played the University of Central Florida Knights. Both teams fought hard, but the Pilots prevailed, winning 1-0.
Sophomore defender Geoffrey Dunn scored his first career goal against the Knights in the 34th minute of the game. Freshman forward Erik Edwardson took a corner kick, which Michael Escobar headed to Dunn, who placed into the top left corner of the net. Freshman goal keeper, Paul Christensen, stopped every shot UCF took, holding the score at 1-0.
The Pilots then faced the Evansville Purple Aces on Sunday, Aug. 31.
The teams were evenly matched, until the 42nd minute of the game, when Evansville forward Jared Robinson collided with Pilot freshman midfielder Jacob Hanlin. The two slammed into the concrete barrier of the stands, putting Hanlin was down for 17 minutes before an ambulance carried him off the field on a stretcher.
After the game, Hanlin’s teammates and coaches visited him at the hospital. Teammate Kurtis Young tweeted out a picture of Hanlin saying ‘Jacob is doing good everyone. Thanks for the prayers. Just a little crack in his noggin and a broken wrist.’
According to teammate sophomore Matthew Coffey, Hanlin was released from the hospital on Monday and is doing well.
"He is with his family so that is good. We are all brothers. It's just good to know that he is doing better and has his family here to support him as well as the team," Coffey said.
Robinson received a red card for the incident, and the Purple Aces were down to ten players for the rest of the game. The Pilots scored against them in the 59th minute of the second half when Edwardson kicked a corner to senior Derek Boggs. Boggs headed to senior forward, Steven Corbett, who headed the ball into the net for his first goal of the season.
The Purple Aces responded immediately, tying the game 1-1 in the 65th minute.
Tied 1-1, the teams engaged in two 10-minute-long overtime periods with no goals, resulting in a tie.
Even though the Pilots didn’t lose a game during the Invitational, the players and coaches still hope to improve as the season progresses.
“During preseason our highlight was defense, and the fact that we only gave up one goal in the tournament shows that it’s proving true on the field,” Dunn said.
Amanda Stowe is a sports reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached by email at stowea17@up.edu or on Twitter @StoweAmanda
