MIDWAY, Ky. — The Lions pushed late, but the three-goal lead was enough for the Eagles to hold on for a 3-2 win Friday afternoon at Midway Turf Field.
The first half was a back-and-forth contest with not much going on offensively. Bryan recorded two shot attempts in the first half to Midway's one, and the only shot on frame was a Sammy Gomez attempt in the seventh minute that Connor Vincent kept out.
The second half was much different. The Lions recorded nine shots, with five on target, while Midway had six attempts, with all but one on frame.
The Eagles got the first tally of the day in the 56th minute. After a Lions clearance, Brayden Ledger served a cross in looking for the head of an Eagles attacker, but the cross hit the arm of a Bryan defender and a penalty was awarded to Midway.
Stepping up to take the kick was senior Saleh Ekuchi. He took the spot kick to the goalkeeper's left and barely snuck it by him to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Not even 40 seconds later, the Eagles doubled their lead. Midway was awarded a free kick in its own defensive third, and Vincent stepped up to take it. He went long with the kick, Martin Escobar flicked it forward to Miles Ezell, who scored his second goal of the week to give Midway a 2-0 lead.
In the 70th minute, Ekuchi slotted in his second of the game.
"Fastest player on the pitch," Vincent said of Ekuchi in the postgame interview, and Ekuchi showed why that is true. He won a loose ball in the middle third, sprinted 68 yards with the ball at his feet and gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead with 20 minutes to play.
No lead is ever safe, and this game proved just that.
In the 80th minute, the Lions got their first tally. Ivan Kalynovskyi took a strike from 10 yards out, and the ball ricocheted off Nahuel Cruz-Arjona and found the back of the net. That's when things got scary, as Kalynovskyi scored again in the 81st minute to cut Midway's lead to just one goal.
After the two goals from Kalynovskyi, Midway needed to hold off the Lions, and it did just that, holding on for the 3-2 victory.
Outside of the three goals, Elijah Orren and Fredy Karezo were the only two Eagles to record a shot on target.
Five players recorded shots on target for the visitors.
The reigning River States Conference Defensive Player of the Week, Vincent, earned his first win of 2026. He now sports a 1-0-1 record.
Santiago Morales took the loss and fell to 2-1-2.
UP NEXT:
Midway continues its homestand Sunday when it hosts Governors State at noon at Midway Turf Field.
About Midway University Athletics
Midway University competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and its 29 athletics teams are part of the River States Conference, Mid-South Conference, the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association, and USA Archery. For more information about Midway University Athletics, please visit www.gomidwayeagles.com or contact Tyler Beck at 859-846-5366.
