Men’s soccer: Short-handed EMU nearly upsets No. 20 Lynchburg

A goal with 9.9 seconds left in the first overtime allowed No. 20 Lynchburg College to escape Harrisonburg with a 2-1 decision over EMU’s soccer men. It was a stunning and let-down of an ending for a Royals team which played so well even without a handful of starters, including leading scorer Juan Luna (Mount Jackson, Va./Stonewall Jackson).

Eastern Mennonite falls to 5-6-2 on the year. Due to the ODAC’s unbalanced schedule this year, the contest was not an official conference match, so the loss does not affect EMU’s ODAC record.

After falling below .500 for the first time in 2016, the Royals will look to rebound in a key ODAC match this weekend, playing at Hampden-Sydney on Saturday. Start time is slated for 4:00pm.

The Royals had a handful of great scoring chances in the first against Lynchburg. Joshua Chiquillo (Woodbridge, Va./Gar-Field) got a pass in the middle on a breakaway in the ninth minute, but he put his close-range shot right at LC’s keeper, Dylan McLaurin. Moments later after a free kick, the men had a cross skipping along the face of the goal which a Lynchburg defender nearly knocked in. McLaurin had to get off the ground to stop the ball from trickling in.

Despite the better chances in the first half, the Royals remained scoreless against the nation’s No. 20 team.

EMU had a few corners early in the second half before the Hornets started to gain control. The visitors took the first lead in the 57th minute, getting a weak side header from Ben Grossfuss.

But the Royals struck right back.  Less than two minutes later, Chiquillo lined up for a free kick on the right side but took a short touch to find Parker Leap (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite). After taking the space in front of him, Leap laced a shot through traffic for the equalizer.

The score stayed tied at 1-1 until time ticked away in overtime. EMU fouled at midfield with less than a minute left, and after the free kick the Hornets’ Fredy Flores sent a long pass to Grossfuss who was streaking just left of center. Grossfuss took the ball on the run and hit the upper right of the goal, stunning the Royals and their home crowd.

LC ended with a 24-11 advantage in shots. The Royals’ offense created seven of their shots in the first half, and earned a 7-6 edge in corners kicks. Chiquillo and Leap each put two shots on goal.

Keeper Matthew Overacker (Mount Crawford, Va./Turner Ashby) finished with a season high 11 saves.