(September 3, 2023) Mena, Arkansas - Coming off a region loss last Sunday to Murray State, the men had a week of rest and faced the defend region champions, Eastern Oklahoma State College. Last season, the Bucks fell in all three games against the Mountaineers, including the region championship game, 4-3. 

Playing against last season's champions early in the season was always going to be a very difficult task for this very young UARM squad. There were two changes to the UARM starting XI from the previous game at Murray State, with Ebrima Jobe (Memphis, TN) recovering from injury to start up front, and the inclusion of Guilherme Sales (San Paula, Brazil) in midfield. It was hoped that these changes would give the attack more a punch in the final third and provide more physical aggression in midfield.

Eastern showed why they are such a powerhouse in the league and took a 3-0 lead into halftime. UARM tried different tactics and systems of play to get a foothold into the game, but unfortunately, Eastern would counter attack on any give away by UARM which would lead to 4 more goals in the second half. UARM did get on the score sheet in the 79^th minute with a direct free kick into the top corner of the goal by Mohammed Sadiki (Casablanca, Morocco). The Bucks fell 7-1 to the Mountaineers. 

After the loss, Coach Sherry stated, "That was a very tough game against a very technical team who play the game at a level that we are trying to reach. Mario Vingarzan (Madrid, Spain) was outstanding today and showed great leadership today. The team will need to come together for the game on Wednesday and keep trying to improve."

#DefendTheMountain