The varsity Eagles soccer team took to the field at Eagle Stadium on Tuesday night, hosting OK White opponent, the Forest Hills Central Rangers. Both teams created scoring opportunities in the early minutes before settling into the match. Although the Eagles were on the front foot, the Rangers got on the board first as a looping ball beat the Eagles goalkeeper about midway through the first half. The Eagles responded quickly as junior Ian Velzen-Haner drew the defense and slotted a ball into space where senior Ben Kuiper was able to blast it into the Rangers' net to level the score. The teams entered half-time deadlocked 1-1. 

The 2nd half picked-up with the Eagles controlling possession, but the Rangers again capitalized on an Eagle missed clearance and took a shot the deflected into the upper corner of the Eagles net. Just a minute later, the Eagles looked to even the score up when they won a penalty kick, but were unable to convert. The Eagles resilience showed as they kept working their attack to find gaps and create opportunities. The Eagles finally leveled the game again about 7 minutes after going down a goal with the same Velzen-Haner to Kuiper combination, leveling the score at 2-2. The Eagles offense then broke out in the 60th minute as junior Johnny Clarkin slotted a perfect pass from the left wing across the Rangers penalty box where senior Nick Cassiday was tucked it away neatly to give the Eagles their first lead of the match. Cassiday struck again 4-minutes later when a drop-kick from sophomore goalkeeper, Christian Dershem, bounced past the Rangers defenders where Cassiday was able to finish the shot (4-2). Only 1-minute later, the Eagles earned a free kick near the Rangers' goal. Cassiday's free kick was saved by the Rangers' goalkeeper, but senior Grant Hassenrik showed hustle by poking the rebound home for a 5-2 lead. Three minutes after this goal, Cassiday received the ball near the top of the Rangers' penalty area and neatly tucked away the shot to for his third goal of the game, wrapping up the scoring for a 6-2 Eagle advantage.

The Eagles continue their OK White campaign against Byron Center on Thursday evening (6:45 kickoff @ Byron Center) and return home to Eagle Stadium on Saturday monrning (11:30 am kickoff) to host non-conference opponent, Jenison.