The EMU soccer men won a tightly fought contest against Guilford tonight by a score of 3-1. With the win the Royals improve their record to 9-7-1 overall and 6-3-0 in conference play setting themselves up for an ODAC tournament run.
The Royals started the match with a lot of energy getting out to an early 1-0 lead in the 12th minute when Emmanuel Boamah (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac) headed in a ball from a corner kick that was sent in by Troy Davis (Gainesville, Va./Patriot).
Despite the early goal and barrage of shots, that score would carry into the second half until Guilford tied it up in the 60th minute on a goal by Giovanni Santibanez.
EMU applied offensive pressure by generating shots the remainder of the half, but kept getting halted by the Quaker defense. The Royals finally broke through in the 85th minute when Dominic Powers (Culpeper, Va./Fresta Valley Christian) stole the ball at the top of the box and passed it over to Davis who fired in a long range shot outside the reach of the diving goalkeeper.
A few minutes later in the 90th minute, Dave Drafton (Alexandria, Va./Howard Gardner) led Caleb Oakes (Waynesboro, Va./Stuarts Draft) on a 2-on-1 breakaway that Oakes was able to bury in the back of the net to solidify the victory.
The Royals out-shot Guilford 29-7 and 14-3 on goal. Emmanuel Kampanga (Kinshasa, Congo/American School) had 2 saves in goal for EMU.
With one match left in the regular season at Washington and Lee on Tuesday at 3:00pm, the soccer men currently sit in fourth place in the ODAC standings. Depending on how the last series of matches play out, EMU can finish as high as the three seed or as low as the five seed. The top four teams host the first round of the tournament which will be played Sunday, October 28.
Prior to the match, the Royals honored seniors Emmanuel Kampanga, Emmanuel Boamah, Erik Peachey (Lititz, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), Dominic Powers, and Dave Drafton for their commitment and dedication to the EMU men’s soccer program.
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