A little less than a month ago, the University of Charleston men's soccer team came out with a performance much like it had been used to all season. The Golden Eagles dominated possession for large portions of the game, outshooting their opponent 31-12 - including 21 shots in the second half - but four goals in the first half handed UC its first loss of the season, 5-3, at the hands of Notre Dame College.
Since that night, Charleston has remembered that feeling and has been waiting for the night it got its chance to make up for that performance. The No. 6 Golden Eagles will have that chance tonight at Schoenbaum Stadium as the Falcons make the return trip.
"If I told you that we've been waiting for this game since the final whistle of the first time we played them, I wouldn't be exaggerating," UC coach Chris Grassie said. "The boys are very excited to get out there and avenge that loss because it was just one of those days you wish you could get back."
Charleston comes into the game at 11-2 and has had some players miss time, forcing younger players to jump into the lineup and contribute quickly as they get used to the program.
It's been tough to go through a bit of a trial by fire with the underclassmen, but the coach has been pleased with the way that the players have responded. And it's something that they believe will be a major boost toward the end of the season once everyone is back and healthy.
"It's hard to sometimes not have those experienced guys in there, but when you can mix those guys back into things with the newer players it's almost like getting to advance a year," Grassie said. "We're thinking that could end up helping us a lot through the end of the season and into the tournament. Now it's about keeping everyone happy and playing a good game."
This will be Charleston's first time at home since it began a string of four consecutive road games, finishing 3-1 over that stretch with wins over Shepherd, West Virginia Wesleyan and Salem International, as well as a loss to No. 15 Urbana.
Schoenbaum Stadium has been good to the Golden Eagles this season, with Charleston outscoring opponents 23-3 on its home field.
UC knows it will need to be at its best in order to bounce back with a win against the Falcons - who are receiving votes in this week's NSCAA coaches poll.
"We know what we have in store for us when we play them," Grassie said. "If we stick to the things that have made us the program we've been - our strong possession style, our dynamic attacking play and defending aggressively - we'll be fine."
It will be a showdown of two of the nation's elite scorers, as UC's Will Roberts and Notre Dame's Leonardo Paiva will be in the spotlight.
Paiva leads the nation with 21 goals this season, while Roberts' 17 has him tied for third. Charleston, which currently sits at No. 2 nationally in goals per game, also has Patrick Guier who leads Division II with 12 assists.
But a big burden will be on the back line and goalkeeper to be able to keep the Falcons and Paiva in check - something that Grassie is confident his group will be able to do by learning from the previous mistakes they made earlier this season.
"In that first game, we didn't defend as well as we could and if you don't defend well and you don't take advantage of your chances you're going to struggle," Grassie said. "I think it's rare to see that happen to us again and I know we're just champing at the bit to show it."