The Ashland University men's soccer team will trek north to start its final two-game road swing of the season on Friday (Oct. 13) when they take on the GLIAC's lone unbeaten team Northwood in Midland, Mich.
The Eagles (6-6, 2-6 GLIAC) earned six points in the GLIAC standings on their two-game homestand against Purdue Northwest and Davenport and will look to carry that momentum into their battle with the Timberwolves (8-2-2, 6-0-1 GLIAC).
The top six teams in the seven-team conference will qualify for the GLIAC Tournament and Ashland holds a three-point edge over Northern Michigan. Earning a point or three against Northwood could prove crucial in earning a place in the conference tournament.
The Eagles' two games last week were carbon copies of each other as AU took two-goal leads in the second half only to see them evaporate and have both contests go to overtime. Against Purdue Northwest, sophomore defender Cameron Mendel scored his second goal of the game to secure the overtime victory, and against Davenport sophomore midfielder Thomas Ardron bent in a 20-yard free kick for his second goal of the game in the 95th minute.
Ardron was given GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his two goals, the first AU player to win weekly conference honors since 2011.
The Eagles and Timberwolves squared off at Ferguson Field on Sept. 24 with Northwood taking a 4-2 win. Ashland took a 2-1 lead into halftime on goals by sophomore defender Zach Hillman and freshman midfielder Caleb Whitaker, but the Eagles could not hold onto the lead despite going toe-to-toe with a traditional regional power for the better part of the match.
AU comes into the match with 21 goals on the season, the second-highest total in the GLIAC. The goals have come from 10 different players, led by freshman forward Justin Libertowski, who has five goals and three assists. Ardron is now second on the team with four markers.
After Northwood, the Eagles travel to Findlay for a nonconference match next Tuesday before returning to Ferguson Field for the final three games of the regular season.
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