Men’s soccer: EMU picks up second straight late upset win

The EMU soccer men are hitting their stride at just the right time.

Freshman Daniel Obour (Alexandria, Va./Mount Vernon) scored the game-winner with just 6:03 left, as the Royals upset Randolph-Macon 3-2 in Ashland, Va., Saturday afternoon. Eastern Mennonite improves to 7-7-4 overall and 2-3-2 in the ODAC with their second straight win over a team ahead of them in the conference standings. The Yellow Jackets (9-3-2 / 5-2 ODAC) entered the day tied for first in the league.

EMU knocked off Virginia Wesleyan by a final of 2-1 Wednesday night, getting the winner with just 2:53 remaining.

The men are now in eighth place with eight points, just a single point Bridgewater, Randolph and Virginia Wesleyan, who are in a three-way tie for fifth with nine points. The Royals finish their year hosting Shenandoah (0-7 ODAC) at 4:00pm on Wednesday, followed by a road date at Emory & Henry (2-4-1 ODAC) next Saturday.

Randolph-Macon scored first in the game when Liam Hogan stuck in a centering pass in the sixth minute.

EMU finally struck back in the 30th and ended up scoring two goals in the span of 1:15 to stun R-MC’s  Homecoming crowd.Dominic Powers (Culpeper, Va./Fresta Valley Christian) netted the first goal, getting the equalizer after Obour gave him a nice hand-off in the box. In the 31st, Powers rolled a cross through the box which Parker Leap (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) finished off for the surprising 2-1 lead.

The Yellow Jackets came out buzzing in the second, finally getting their own equalizer from Peyton Chichester on a scramble after a corner in the 69th.

Obour then got his game-winner, netting his second goal of the season.

Keeper Matthew Overacker (Mount Crawford, Va./Turner Ashby) made four saves. Leap had three of EMU’s five shots on goal. He is tied with teammate Juan Luna (Mount Jackson, Va./Stonewall Jackson) for third in the ODAC standings with eight goals this season.