Anderson Charges Past Earlham on Senior Day

The Anderson University men's soccer team charged past Earlham College with a 4-2 victory on Senior Day during Wednesday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) matchup at the AU Soccer Fields.
 
Luc Cesar put the Quakers (2-11-2, 1-5) on the board after finishing a corner kick from Andrew Strozewski in the sixth minute.
 
Earlham remained in the lead until Daniel Collins (Jamestown, Ind./Western Boone) delivered the equalizer in the 29th minute with Antony Rodriguez (Lawrence, Ind./Lawrence North) providing the assist.
 
Six minutes later, Collins fired a shot on goal that was saved, but Regan Frost (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) quickly finished the rebound for a goal. Collins was credited with the assist.
 
During the 38th minute, Drew FitzGibbon received a forward pass from Joel Michael Nti-Kyeremeh, drove in and connected on a goal. Nti-Kyeremeh earned the assist. Both teams entered halftime tied at 2-all.
 
Collins made a drive up the endline in the 80th minute and recorded his second goal of the day to give the Ravens a 3-2 lead. Anderson received insurance in the 88th minute after adding on own goal to go-ahead by two scores.
 
Anderson put together a strong response after going into halftime tied and came away with three conference points.
 
"I am proud of our response [on Wednesday]," Coach Scott Fridley said. "We started slow but found our way after going down again to start the game.  That has been the story of our season, early goals against."
 
"We needed the three points and we got it," Collins commented. "I don't think that first goal from Earlham scared us. We still believed that we were going to come back and win this game."
 
Collins, a senior midfielder from Jamestown, racked up five points with two goals and an assist on Senior Day.
 
"I came out for Senior Day and wanted to end on a good note."
 
"Danny had a good day and a key goal to start our day and get us to even," Fridley added.
 
Collins led the Ravens with four shots on goal. R.J. Macomber (Marion, Ind./Marion) contributed three shots on goal. Rodriguez turned in two shots on target while Nick Martin (New Palestine, Ind./New Palestine), Chase Litzke (Plain City, Ohio/Fairbanks) and Frost each added shots on target.
 
Collins paced the Ravens with five shots. Macomber tallied four shots for the Ravens. Martin and Frost put together three shots apiece. Sam Rowlison (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern), Rodriguez and Litzke turned in two shots apiece while Derek Thorpe (Cicero, Ind./Hamilton Heights) and Noah LaBelle (Rushsylvania, Ohio/Calvary Christian School) added shots.
 
Jackson Etheridge (Finneytown, Ohio/St. Xavier) saved five of the seven shots he faced for the Ravens. Rodriguez and Martin shared the team lead with three steals each. Martin, a senior defender from New Palestine, topped the team with five interceptions.
 
"It sucks that we let up those two goals, but we are playing well," Martin acknowledged. "We are getting ready for the toughest part of our schedule going into Hanover and Rose-Hulman, but the team is looking good. We just got to keep moving forward and getting better every day."
 
The Ravens outshot Earlham 22-9 and held a 12-7 advantage in shots on goal.
 
Anderson recognized seniors Keegan Sweeney (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield), Braden Crowell (Kokomo, Ind./Western), Noah Keller (Mount Vernon, Ind./Mount Vernon), Thorpe, Cain, Race Williams (Fishers, Ind./Heritage Christian), Collins and Martin for Senior Day.
 
"This class has been a great group of kids," Fridley stated. "They have been impactful and have gotten a lot done for the stadium project. We will miss them. I have no doubt they will do great things in the world and will make people around them better people. These are quality fellas."
 
Senior Days present a memorable part of a student-athlete's career and it becomes more memorable when it is tied with a win.
 
"Senior Day is a big deal for all of us," Collins commented. "We have been together since freshman year and it's a way to remember everything from the past four years."
 
"It was a great way to end it," Martin added. "We all had fun, it was a tough game, Earlham came out and showed up. They had a good performance, but I'm so glad that we came away the win and play all of the seniors; it's just been a great day."
 
With a win against Earlham on Senior Day and a 1-0 Homecoming victory against Franklin (4-13, 1-5) last Saturday, Anderson has momentum it can utilize for the coming part of the schedule.
 
"Coming off of wins on Homecoming and Senior Day, it gives the team morale for the coming week," Collins acknowledged.
 
Anderson is tied for fifth in the conference with 10 points. The top four teams make the HCAC Tournament. With upcoming matches against Hanover College (8-5-1, 5-1) and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (12-3, 5-1), Anderson has the opportunity to assert its position in the HCAC.
 
"We go into match looking to get to three points no matter if it's home and away. Hanover and Rose-Hulman are good teams, but we know we can beat them."
 
"We're still fighting to get into that tournament," Martin addressed. "We can play well this next week and put us into a good position to get into the tournament."
 
Anderson follows up its win against Earlham with three HCAC matches to close out the regular season. The Ravens clash with Hanover on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Hanover. Anderson then challenges Rose-Hulman next Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Terre Haute. The Ravens round out the season next Saturday by facing Bluffton University (6-10, 1-5) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Bluffton, Ohio.
 
"We got three points we needed for sure," Fridley acknowledged. "We are just climbing the ladder, trying to be relevant at the end of the season."