EATON — Eaton boys’ soccer earned an encouraging post-season victory, beating Franklin 3-0 on Tuesday, Oct. 20, before running into one-seeded Alter on Saturday, Oct. 24.
“From looking at us in June to the Franklin win, we were 50 times better. Good for the guys. We played the game beautifully and they are starting to understand how soccer needs to be played,” said head coach Matt Money. “Franklin was dangerous maybe once. We took their hearts. I did that on purpose. I knew what was going to come afterwards. I said to myself that we have to get a home victory in the tournament to get this program really rolling.”
Eaton scored early and often, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first half against Franklin and never looking back. They also limited the Wildcats opportunities, leaving little doubt that they were going to win the game.
“There was excitement that night in the crowd after the game. That’s no disrespect to any of the previous teams. All that is – we were able to produce,” said Money.
The Eagles than ran into a top-notch Alter squad in the pouring rain on Saturday. Alter scored seven on Eaton but that doesn’t diminish how they played that night.
“I was proud of our guys. We were against a team that was just loaded,” said Money. “We played hard and we played soccer as best we could. The score does not dictate what the guys did. We left that field feeling good about ourselves, knowing that we competed and that we didn’t quit.”
In Money’s first season back as coach, the team – while very young – produced a 4-10-3 record and a playoff victory.
“I’m proud of the guys and I’m proud of our efforts. We just have to use this as a catalyst to move forward,” he said.
