AUBURN — One try after another went for naught Tuesday afternoon and each failed attempt to score came back to haunt the Edward Little boys’ soccer team.

Despite a strong start and numerous early chances, the Red Eddies failed to finished and watched Erskine do so twice in a 2-0 win.

EL (3-6) has scored just 13 goals all season and just one in its last three outings.

“Right now, we’re not scoring, and that’s the problem,” EL coach Dave Morin said. “We had the chances. We outshot Brunswick down there and lost 2-0. We had some really good chances to score. Right now, for the psyche of the team, we just need to find a way to bury one of those and keep playing the way we’ve been playing. I’m not unhappy with the way we’ve been playing.”

EL outshot Erskine 18-10 and had eight corners to just one for the Eagles. The Red Eddies had an abundance of chances early on but were stymied by Erskine keeper Zack Busmanis, who finished with 12 saves.

“You can’t complain about the chances we created,” said Morin, whose team lost to Erskine 3-1 earlier in the year.

Instead, it was Erskine that was able to finish. Junior forward Ryan Pulver scored both goals for the Eagles (5-4).

“They had the ball a lot down our end and then we got it going,” Pulver said.

EL had quality bids by Tim Mains and J.J. Jackson that Busmanis saved in the first half. The Red Eddies also had a flurry of opportunities that went wide of the net. The only real good try Erskine had early on was a direct kick by Matt Atwood that EL keeper Jeremy Hamm saved.

“We outshot them, and we out corner-kicked them,” Morin said. “They’re a tough team physically, and we don’t match up with them well physically. You could see that take its toll. They’re a bigger team, and they play a very physical style.”

The physical game drew four yellow cards, two for each team, but seemed to throw EL off its game at times.

Though EL had played well in the opening half, the Eagles got the first score with 4:56 left in the half. Brian Potter burst by a pair of defenders in pursuit of the ball. Hamm came charging out and blocked the shot by Potter, but Pulver was left alone and had an open net to shoot at.

“Bryan Potter got a nice through ball and shot it,” Pulver said. “It went off the goalie and it came right to my foot.”

To make matters worse for the Red Eddies, the Eagles scored on their first shot of the second half. A free kick was sent toward the net where Pulver leaped and headed it home with 28:30 left.

“I just got up on the goalie and skimmed it,” Pulver said. “I saw the goalie coming out, and I jumped and it went off my head.”

EL had chances down the stretch. Zach Tannenbaum had a shot knocked away while Mains and Jackson had good shots that Busmanis stopped. The Eagles were able to solidify the defense and preserve the lead.

“It let us sit back and be a little more defensive,” Pulver said. “We were able to keep them from scoring.”

kmills@sunjournal

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