Thursday, September 14, 2017
PORTALES, NM — Thursday night at Al Whitehead Field at Greyhound Stadium,
Nicolai Alstrom fired a free kick from 29 yards out to tally his second game-winning goal of the season. The senior defender's goal lifted the Eastern New Mexico University men's soccer team (2-2-1; HC 1-0) to a 3-2 win in Heartland Conference action over Oklahoma Christian (2-2; HC 0-1).
"That was amazing," said Alstrom. "We talked before the season that we aren't going to be beat at home. Now we're scoring again as well."
"That was a great way to finish," said third-year Head Coach
Paul Tate. "And to start conference with a win. The guys keep battling. They tied the game and we came right back. Now we have to keep it going."
The Greyhounds will return to Al Whitehead Field at Greyhound Stadium on Saturday to take on eighth-ranked Midwestern State. The game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. MT.
The Key Plays
- Eastern scored on its first two shots of the match
- Landon Pope halved the Eagles' deficit early in the second half on a ball centered on a free kick
- With just over 14 minutes to play, OC lofted a long pass into the box which was headed by Garrett Blume to even the game
- With 6:31 left in regulation, Alstrom fired a long free kick into the Eagle net for the win
In the Series
- The victory moved Eastern to 5-0 against Oklahoma Christian
- At home, ENMU is 2-0 in the series
- The Hounds have scored at least three goals in four of the five meetings
In the Box Score
- Yuri Nascimiento made eight saves in the game
- Eastern held a 5-3 edge in corner kicks
- The Eagles held a 10-7 lead in shots on goal
- OC surged in the second half and had all four corners
Beyond the Box Score
- Alstrom netted the game-winners against both OC and UC-Colorado Springs to thwart furious rallies by those teams
- Alstrom and Mesquita both tallied their second goals of the season
- The Greyhounds are now 5-0-3 in their last eight home games
- With his sixth Heartland Conference victory, Tate tied Carlos Elizondo for most league wins in program history (Elizondo coached during the Southwest Soccer Conference era)
