Springdale, AR  - After coming off a long 10 days that saw the Tigers lose three consecutive one goal games, they were anxious before kick off. Ecclesia does not have the results that show their quality, and that is always a tricky part about fixtures like these. 
 
"This is probably the best Ecclesia team that Coach Julio has put together the last few years. They've got some guys that can really play. The hardest part for us was making sure that we handled our mindset and not under estimate them."  Hoxie added. 
 
Coach Hoxies pre-game speech must have worked because the Tigers came out and took an early advantage. A free kick played into the box that Tyler Hoxie flicked to the far post was handled nicely by Riccardo do Viccenco who played it back across the box in one touch to Drew. Schrader. All Schrader had to do was tap it in. The goal seemed to have the opposite affect one would expect and the Tigers found themselves on their back heels struggling to get out. 
 
Hoxie describes the struggle, "Loved the early goal but not thrilled with the rest of the half. The flow was choppy, our technicality was lazy, guys stopped moving to create space, and we developed a bit of a selfish mindset. It seemed like everyone thought it was a time to get theirs and it wasn't good."
 
The substitutes that entered the game seemed to change things back for the Tigers as they injected some energy and pace into the system. Despite the advantage in possession and shots, half time would come with a slender 1-0 advantage. 
 
Once the second half started, it became apparent that the Tigers were not going to relinquish control of the match. Several early opportunities produced some fine saves and narrow misses. The increase in pressure caused a problem for Ecclesia and poor GK play led to the Tigers second goal. Johnny was on the spot as he tapped in the errant pass to score the easiest goal of his career. 
 
Moments later the third goal would come. This time the build up play was smooth and the sequence going forward was quality. Arthur would slip in behind the MF line and slide his entry pass into Johnny, who snuck in neatly between defenders drawing the CB out wide. His touch pass was perfectly weighted into Drew's path who made no mistake from 10 yards out. Excellent team work and commitment from the guys on this one. 
 
Hoxie commented, "You feel for the kid on our second goal. That's a memory he will wish he never had. But we've all been around the game long enough to know that these things happen. However, he should hold his head high. He made 4 incredible saves to keep his team in the match. Without that response, it would have been ugly for them as we had hit our attacking stride. There wasn't much they could to to stop us during that period of the match. Dynamite play on our third goal. A real team goal."
 
As Coach Hoxie mentioned, the Tigers were really flying producing chance after chance. Despite all of the opportunities, the next goal would come from Ecclesia with about 10 minutes to play. Just a simple ball played into an unmarked player, and EC made the Tigers pay for it. However, it was too little too late as the Tigers saw off the game to get themselves back on track. 
 
Hoxie concludes, "We talk a lot about concentrating for 90 minutes and making teams earn their goals against us. We feel like we could be 6-0 right now if we had done that last week. This was a silly goal to give up…absolutely silly…we just stopped running and dudes ran by us. It's a damper on a grinding win from my guys but always a learning experience."
 
The Tigers next opponent is on the road at Central Baptist College. Kick off is slated for 2:00pm on Saturday 9/18. You can find more information about the Tigers at www.ccctigers.com