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10/31/2008 - MEN'S SOCCER
Cyrus Eaton winding up memorable run at Belmont - AspenTimes.com
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NASHVLLE, Tenn. - Four years ago Cyrus Eaton was the long shot.
From a small high school in a small town on Colorado’s Western Slope, the former Basalt Longhorns co-captain simply wanted a chance to prove he could play Division I soccer.
He got it when Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., took a flyer on him, offering him a spot on its team and a partial scholarship.
Today, Eaton will break the school’s record for games played, a mark of 70 matches that is likely to stand for a long, long time.
Not too bad for a long shot.
"I feel more blessed than anything to have stayed healthy enough to earn a title like this," wrote Eaton, a 5-foot-8 senior midfielder, in an e-mail to The Aspen Times before Friday’s match against Sun Conference foe Jacksonville. "From firsthand experience, staying healthy through all four seasons is not easy, and I had my fair share of injuries that I played with as well. Some were a lot harder to handle than others, but competing for four years really takes a toll on your body. When I look back on all of the aches and pains of the seasons, this honor helps me to feel like I really did do all that I could to stay healthy and fit so I could perform in every game — except one — of my college career."
While Eaton credits his fitness for his streak, there’s no getting around that it was his talent — honed during his years playing soccer on the Western Slope — that initially earned him playing time for the Bruins.
He played in 16 games as a freshman, starting four. Since then, he hasn’t missed a game in the past three seasons — a run that continues to marvel the coach who recruited him.
The talent and persistence is the same Eaton displayed while at Basalt, where he was a four-year letter winner, two-time league MVP, led 3A in total points as a senior and was the catalyst behind two runs to the state semifinals.
Coming out of Basalt, Eaton said his options were limited when it came to scholarship offers. He played catch-up in the recruiting process simply because he didn’t realize how difficult it was to get noticed by Division I coaches.
