Royals to Face Lynchburg in Semifinals on Tuesday
HARRISONBURG, Va. --- It had been six
years, but the Eastern Mennonite soccer men finally got a win in
the ODAC Tournament. The Royals blanked rival Bridgewater 2-0
on a cold Sunday night, getting out of the tourney's first round
since finishing as the runner-up in 2005.
Second-seeded EMU, 10-7-2 on the year, will now host the ODAC's
sixth seed, Lynchburg, which upset Washington & Lee 1-0 Sunday
afternoon. Date and time of that game will be determined on
Monday.
After an early surge by Bridgewater, the Royals scored on their
first shot attempt. Midfielder Bryce
Shank (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) fired a long
through ball up the right side to speedy Adam
Moyer (Harleysville, PA/Christopher Dock). Moyer tracked
it down and then beat the BC keeper for a 1-0 lead just 8:51
in.
The Eagles settled down and thought they had their equalizer in the
30th minute. Sawyer Janes took off on a
breakaway and fired a shot which got by keeper Patrick
Fox (Virginia Beach, VA/Kempsville). But the ball
bounced off the left post and came straight back to Fox while he
was on the ground from the save attempt.
In the second half, both teams had good chances, but either put
shots wide or had them stopped. Kevin
Chico (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) skimmed a shot just
right of the post in the 76th minute. A
minute later Brendan Jeschke (Vienna, VA/James Madison)
sent a pass across the face of the goal, butMark
Mast's (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) sliding footer
trickled just inches wide right again.
With 5:04 left on the clock, the men finally got their insurance
when Mitchell Leap (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite)
broke loose in front of the goal and hit the net to produce the
final 2-0 margin.
The Royals out-shot BC 19-11, and only allowed one shot on goal for
a 7-1 edge. Fox played the first half and had EMU's only
save. Freshman Andrew Yoder (Harrisonburg,
VA/Eastern Mennonite) tended the goal in the second.
Eastern Mennonite, which also tied the program record with seven
ODAC wins during the regular season, now holds home field advantage
through the playoffs, after top-seeded Roanoke was upset on
Saturday. Virginia Wesleyan plays at Randolph in the other
semifinal.
This release is courtesy of the Eastern Mennonite
University sports information department.