KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Avila men's soccer once again showed some flashes of real promise and created quite a few quality chances in the first half, but the Eagles (1-1-0) never could capitalize on those chances, allowing Benedictine (1-1-1) to escape The Z with a 2-0 win on Wednesday evening.

In a low-scoring sport like soccer, results quite often boil down to one or two key moments or plays, and that was certainly true on Thursday: in reality, both teams generated a solid number of chances, but while Benedictine was able to score on two of theirs Avila was unable to score on any of theirs, and that was the difference in the match.

The Ravens very nearly got on the board in the first two minutes when Adem Aroua's penalty kick clanged off the crossbar, but then the Ravens did get on the board first just past the half hour mark by winning a free kick not far outside the box. Dylan Posada's effort dipped towards the right post and though Avila goalkeeper Naguib Nassir got down to make the initial save, the rebound bounced off his body and right to the waiting Robert Mike Keon who pounced on the loose ball for the opening goal.

Nassir and the Eagle defense did their part to keep the home team right in the mix all night. Nassir denied a dangerous Daniel Wee twice in the first half, enabling the Eagle offense to ultimately push ahead and create chances for the likes of Brennan Ortega, Malcolm Goswell, Sam Kanda and Robert Davies. The Ravens gave the Eagles a gift when Elijah Williams shoved Kanda near the Avila box, earning himself a straight red card with five minutes left in the half, and putting Avila a man up for the game's final 50 minutes.

But the Eagles never could take advantage. In fact, Benedictine locked it down defensively after halftime, allowing only one Jaime Gomez shot on target with about 12 minutes left in regulation. Finally, the Ravens took advantage of the Eagles on a counterattack, with Diego Acuna and JJ Johannsen setting up Eliah Froeyland behind the defense for an easy finish with under five minutes to go, dooming the Eagles to a 2-0 loss in their home opener.

Nassir was solid once again for the Eagles and finished with a game-high seven saves. The centerback pairing of Jesse Simpson and Juan Moreno didn't' start or finish the game together but were strong when they were deployed together; Tayler Peters and Landon Burdick played the full 90 minutes for Avila, filling in various roles when needed.

Up next for Avila men's soccer is a quick road trip up north to take on Park on Saturday, September 3. Kickoff is slated for approximately 8:30 PM; be sure to follow Avila Athletics on social media for updates from across the Eagle Empire.