Seniors:  Adam Emig, Casey Cooke, Hayden McNeil, Paul Heiniger, Pat Parris, Sean Moriarty, Chris D'Aniello, Eric Shacklette, Cody Covert, Tyler Moxley, Kyle Stamp, Brandon Pitts, Jake Schiphorst

The Eagle men were coming off a runner-up finish from Districts and hoping to change their luck at the Oldham Regional. Coach Hawes was calling on Senior Leadership once again for this battle against the highly ranked Oldham County team.  The Colonels lived up their ranking as they earned a 4-0 Victory.  All in all it was a great season for the Boys who finished 10-7-1 against as tough a schedule as anyone.  Wins over State Ranked teams like Shelby County and Russell along with victories over Ballard and KCD make all Eagle Supporters proud.  The underclassmen have big shoes to fill with one of the largest and hardest working Senior Classes in memory.  Defender Eric Shacklette anchored the Eagle back line usually battling the top strikers in the area.  His huge left leg created numerous opportunities and goals.  Eric took most of the free kicks, from goal kicks to direct kicks just outside the box.  His towering goal kicks and dipping left footed rockets were nearly perfect for each set play.  Cody Covert worked and worked and worked.  Against the toughest competition he led the Varsity by example turning 50/50 balls into Eagle possessions.  Cody led the team in scoring and it was not by running it up against lesser opponents. Keeping the team in tough games against teams like Male and CAL, he would find the net. Opposing coaches and players recognized his skill, work rate, and sportsmanship with well deserved handshakes and pats on the back during and after games. Adam Emig worked both ends at midfield, passing, scoring, and playing strong defense.  His ability to be strong and hold off a defender were key plays in the most difficult contests.  Several of his blasts could have made FSN's Goals of the week.  Ethan Oberhausen picked up where he left off his Junior year doing the dirty work as left back most of the year.  His experience and calm play set an example for the young players the coaches were mixing in.  Rather than just clearing it, he would fake his challenger and calmly find the open man.  Solid reliable play is underrated until missed.  Sean Moriarty worked as hard as anyone in the off season and it was evident from the first contest.  Flying around the field, closing quickly on the opponent with the ball with physical challenges caused dozens of turnovers for the Eagles.  Bringing footskills with this power game allowed Eastern to score numerous goals and Sean tallied several key ones himself.  Jake Schiphorst played a terrific right side game in and game out.  Patiently playing that area forced defenders to be spread thin allowing the other forwards space.  When they squeezed the middle Jake was open to fly down the wing sending beautiful crosses or finishing (which he had several).  Paul Heiniger has the nickname of Rudy, and perhaps the Notre Dame legend should be called Paul!  With a heart as big as any Eagle athlete, he fearlessly roamed the midfield.  Despite continually battling against much larger opponents, he never backed down.  By halftime they would be not be running quite as hard to the balls.  Keeper Chris D'Aniello came into the season with high expectations for himself and the team and they were met.  6 of the 10 Eastern wins were Shutouts and against the toughest competition he played his best.  His anticipation and athleticism frustrated many a striker.  Chris took the most difficult position on the pitch and played it superbly - the team never worried about keeping.  Hayden McNeil was well aware of the Eagle tradition of selfless, solid play by defenders and the pride of clean sheets.  He did not take this lightly playing a key role mostly as right back.  Perhaps not flashy, but very, very reliable Hayden played that spot great.  Game after game he faced speedy attackers but game after game battled. Brandon Pitts was called upon Coach Hawes to fill several roles.  Looking for a spark at midfield Brandon could be counted on to control the left side and find open forwards.  His speed and strong left leg allowed him to attack the left side pressuring the defense.  Several times his role was to defend and shut down, no problem.  This type of unselfish play is to be copied. Kyle Stamp's role in prior years was to use his skills, anticipation and speed to score and this year was no different.  A Striker must have the confidence to take the few quality chances and convert.  One of the first substitutes, Kyle could not wait for the game to come to him, he had to go after it and he succeeded.  Pressure and moving smartly without the ball allowed him to have his name in the scoring column for the Eagles in 2008.  Pat Parris has contributed mightily to the soccer program throughout the years and his Senior year was no different.  Pat was a key substitute for Coach Hawes filling in for any of the forward spots.  Pat brought a physical presence with skills, making a defender's job doubly difficult.  His ability to work the sides with the speed and strength to control the ball sent many passes into the box and earned many corners resulting in scores. Pat always saw the bigger picture - winning. Casey Cooke was another talented player who played several spots.  His most natural spot is right back and he filled in there nicely.  However, his speed allowed him to also contribute to the right side of midfield without any problem.  Lastly Coach Hawes asked him to attack in some contests and Casey rewarded with solid play including a goal.  Casey understood making the most of opporunities.  Tyler Moxley was yet one more skilled player the coaches had who could be counted on to fill literally any spot on the field.  Playing mostly halfback, Tyler was comfortable playing a holding midfielder on either the right or left side.  Its sometimes a thankless job without much fanfare.  However, the fact that the team played extremely well with him in the role showed he did it well.  A hardnosed player willing to dish out and receive the punishment  at that spot.

Yes the Underclassmen have to fill some large holes...THIRTEEN to be exact.  You can see by this number that playing time was not a given, there was no guarantee each game.  Nonetheless, each senior practiced extremely hard, selflessly, setting examples for future teams to follow.  The groundwork has been laid for even greater results in the future.

Eagle Supporters thank you for your contributions for your entire career.