Eastern junior forward Josh Cirocco scored a second-half goal in Friday's win over Rosemont.
Eagles’ senior forward Benjamin Barnhart entered the game at the start of the 25th minute in a 0-0 game, and in a little more than 10 minutes, Barnhart elevated the Eagles to a 2-0 lead.
In the 30th minute, freshman Andrew Ferman delivered a cross from the left wing that dipped into the box. Barnhart leapt and buried the Eagles’ first goal of the year on a header. Six minutes later, Eagles’ JD Saracco played a nice through-ball on the ground between Rosemont’s center backs. Barnhart slipped past the defense and finished with a blistering shot past Rosemont keeper Max McDonald.
Eagles’ head coach Mark Wagner referenced the spark that Barnhart brings off the bench, specifically bringing up how Barnhart came off the bench and was the difference-maker in last year’s 1-0 win over Cabrini. “He’s a guy that whether we start him or bring him off the bench, he gives us impact so many times,” Wagner said. “[He has] very composed finishes and good overall quality play.”
The Eagles took a 3-0 lead in the 65th minute when junior forward Josh Cirocco juked around his defender and fired his first goal of the year. Rosemont ended the shutout a minute later with an off-balance shot in traffic by forward Luke McIlvaine. The Eagles held Rosemont to just four shots on the night.
Freshman Xavier Young started on the back line for the Eagles and three other freshman saw significant time off the bench: Jadon Ramsing, Andrew Ferman and Vanji Moise. "They played really well in their first real match,” Wagner said. "With all the seniors that graduated last year, we’re maybe a little less deep than we’ve been in previous years, so some of these freshman are going to have to mature quickly. Whether they start or they don’t, they’re going to get minutes.”
While the Eagles left the field with a two-goal win, coach Wagner noted some defensive and offensive issues he thinks the team needs to improve quickly on as the season progresses. “We have to defend as a more compact and cohesive unit,” he said. "We got stretched a bit too much and we’ve got to play tighter as a total 11. On attack—speed of play. We can be a lot faster.”
Rosemont’s coaching staff includes two former Eastern Men’s Soccer standouts—head coach David Carvalho and assistant coach James Le—both making their debuts with Rosemont Friday. Wagner commented that it was awesome coaching against his former players but joked that it also made him feel old.
The Eagles will take a longer road trip for their next game. They’ll play at the College of Mt. St. Vincent on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
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