DUBUQUE, Iowa -- It was a day that Emmaus couldn't seem to miss, as the Sabercats took a hard 5-1 loss today to open NCCAA Midwest Region play and the regular season.

Emmaus scored five of their eight shots on goal, and the Sabercats couldn't find a way through on a frustrating day in NCCAA competition.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 1-5 Emmaus
• Venue: Emmaus Bible College
• Location: Dubuque, Iowa 
• Event: NCCAA Midwest Region regular season
• Attendance: 102
• Record: MBU (0-1-0), EBC (1-0-0) 

STORY

It took just seven minutes for the hosts to find a way through, as Christian Anderson broke behind the Sabercats' back line and buried his shot on a breakaway to give the hosts the 1-0 lead. A big save from Brad Brock kept the Eagles off the scoresheet again in the following minutes, but Emmaus doubled the lead on the half-hour mark when Caleb Hunter scored off a corner kick. Going into halftime, the Sabercats were in the hole 2-0 and had a hill to climb.

The Eagles tripled their advantage in the 59th minute courtesy of Josiah Tuttle, who scored off of another corner kick. Tuttle tapped in a header from close range to triple the lead and put the game almost out of reach.

Grant Kirchner answered the call to make the game a game again. From close range, Kirchner tapped the ball in from Robbie Lemon's initial shot, and the Sabercats had new life.

The following minutes were critical, as the momentum hung in the balance. Emmaus found the next crucial goal, however, as Kaleb Pogany broke behind the Sabercats off a deep punt from the Emmaus goalkeeper, placing a finish into the back of the net from just inside the penalty area.

As a parting shot, Anderson finished it off with another breakaway finish in the 83rd minute. Anderson had his second of the night, Emmaus had their first win of the series, and the Sabercats were left frustrated by the sharp-shooting Eagles.

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Maranatha Starters: 1- Brock, 3- Doese, 7- Lemon, 8- Davis (C), 9- Wright (C), 12- Greene, 13- Donovan, 14- A. Wright, 16- Kirchner, 18-Mixell, 23- Perkins

STATS

• Shots on goal: Maranatha 10-9 Emmaus
• Kirchner: ninth career goal
• Lemon: second career assist
• Last time: Maranatha tied with Emmaus 3-3 in Dubuque on October 7, 2022
• Series: Maranatha will face Emmaus again at home on October 21
• Series: Maranatha now leads the all-time series against Emmaus 9-1-1

OPPONENTS

• Emmaus competes with Maranatha in the National Christian College Athletic Association Midwest Region (NCAA-Dlll)
• Emmaus also competes in the Midwest Christian College Conference
• Emmaus finished the 2022 season with a record of 6-8-2

NEXT

The Sabercats return to Watertown, Wisconsin to take on Martin Luther College for their home opener on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Follow along at mbusabercats.com/schedule.