Going into the first half with 11 minutes in, senior Caleb George was issued a yellow card. Four seconds after the Eagles yellow card, the Mavericks would score the first goal of the game off of a header from sophomore Elvir Ibisevic with an assist from senior Xavier Gomez. This was Ibisevic's seventh goal of the season. T
he Eagles continued to try to tie the game after shots by senior Miguel Jaime, but to no avail. After freshman Stevie Siy was issued a yellow card, freshman Kareem Riley attempted to tie the game, but it was unsuccessful.
At the 30 minute mark, the Mavericks subbed in sophomore Fred Frimpong for senior Emmanuel Hamzat and freshman Diego Gutierrez for sophomore Joey McCain two minutes later after a Maverick foul.
During the substitutions, the Eagles brought back their equalizer for offensive, senior striker Albert Ruiz. Ruiz missed eight straight games this season due to an ankle injury that sidelined him for two months. As he stepped on the field, Ruiz got a standing ovation from all of the Dirty Birds for his season return as he came in for redshirt senior Dylan Sacramento.
The Eagles continued to push the Mavericks with multiple shot attempts from sophomores Shak Adams and Miguel Perez and senior Robert Ferrer before the Eagles finally got the goal they needed off the foot of Ruiz with assists from Perez and Ferrer before halftime
"I can't even describe the feeling I have, said Ruiz on his return. "I went to the locker room and I started crying like a baby. On the field, you're just about business, but when you stop a minute and realize what was happening, the field that you have to put all the therapies, the recovery time, all the bad news, good news, and it's just unbelievable. It took me five minutes at halftime to settle down and get back in game mode, but it was really emotional day for me."
"My last game was around five or six months ago, so after six months, scoring after 15 minutes of the game, it's not too bad. I've been thinking about this for the last two to three months, visualizing and thinking how I'm going to score, and the power of the mind," said Ruiz on the goal.
"He's (Ruiz) just a presence. He's a phenomenal talent, but he is also an amazing human being, he's a great leader," head coach Jesse Cormier said on Ruiz's return. "The team really feeds off his emotion, his maturity, and it's just a big relief to have him back."
18 minutes into the second half, the Eagles would soon take the lead off the foot of freshman Chris Clement with an assist from Jaime. This was Clement's first goal of the season.
Two minutes later, the Eagles would get one more goal for insurance from Riley, his first of the season, with an assist from junior Dennis Zapata, and when I say goal, I mean a "Golazoo" goal. The ball traveled at least 35 to 40 yards from the crossbar.
I'm watching the goal come across into the net and I'm saying to myself with my hands on my head in shock "What the **** just happened? What the **** just happened? Holy ****!!! What the ****?!"
Five minutes after the goal, Sacramento and junior goalkeeper Jared Brown got yellow cards, the Eagles' third and fourth of the game before Ibisevic score his eighth goal of the season and second of the game.
With 35 minutes left on the clock, the Maverick would get their third and fourth yellow cards from Ibisevic and junior Denzel Woods.
With five minutes left, sophomore Lucas Bueno would get the Eagles' fifth yellow card of the game.
As Gomez setup a corner kick for the final chance to tie the game, Siy attempted a header with five seconds left, but it went wide right and the Eagles ended up with the win.
"I thought we played a fantastic 1st half," stated Cormier. "Omaha did a good job to get its goal, but that was against the run of play, and I thought we managed the half very well. We were dangerous; we created numerous opportunities, but just couldn't finish. Then Albert showed up and showed us how to do it, and it just brought life and excitement to the team."
"The two 2nd-half goals were fantastic," Cormier continued. "I was a little disappointed we conceded and let them back into it, but overall I'm pretty happy. It's a good home win over a nationally-ranked team."
Brown did not get any saves for the win.
With the Eagle goals, Clement logged in 79 minutes, Riley played all 90 minutes, and Ruiz played in 39 minutes. With Ruiz, I kind of suspected that he played lightly to be safe from his ankle injury.
Senior Joseph Ghitis had five saves for the Mavericks despite giving up three goals.
The Eagles will resume conference play as they face Lipscomb at home on Saturday, October 7 at 7 P.M.
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