The Columbus Eagles came up short in the home opener of the franchise’s inaugural season, dropping the contest 2-0 to FC Indiana.
Columbus fell behind early when Lindsey Zullo of FC Indiana scored in the sixth minute to make it 1-0. The Eagles were able to attack for a good portion of the rest of the first half, and for much of the second, but were unable to capitalize on their opportunities. Ultimately, in the 83rd minute, Dina Jean-Pierre scored for FC Indiana to put the game out of reach.
Despite the loss, Columbus can be encouraged by the growth. The Eagles had lost their franchise debut 5-0 to the same FC Indiana team on the road two weeks ago. In the days leading up to this game, Head Coach Mark Wise indicated that he wanted to see improvement from his team, and that a rematch with FC Indiana would be a good measure of the team’s development.
“I saw a significant improvement from two weeks ago,” Wise said after the rematch. “The ladies came together and did our plan. They (FC Indiana) came out differently against us today. The first game they played a fifty percent defense, where they were drawing us in. Today they gave us high pressure all day. So the girls adjusted very well to that.”
Though disappointed with the result of the home opener, Wise recognized the bigger picture.
“I thought we were getting better. I thought we were making some good touches, inside and outside, getting the attack going. Unfortunately, we couldn’t put it together better than that. But, like I say, I was looking for improvement. I got improvement. I think if you watched the game you saw good soccer today, and we just need to build from that.”
The Eagles return to the field next Sunday, June 1st, when they take on the Cincinnati Lady Saints. Kick-off is at 2:00pm at the Wellington School.
More information about the Columbus Eagles can be found at www.columbuseaglesfc.com.
Photos by Chris Landauer.