The EMU soccer men ran into a surging Lebanon Valley club Saturday in Annville, Penn., and the Royals came home with a 4-0 loss.
The loss, coupled with Wednesday’s 3-2 setback to Bridgewater, puts the men on their first losing streak of the year. They had a solid 5-3-2 non-conference slate as they head into Tuesday’s ODAC opener at defending champion Washington and Lee. Start time in Lexington, Va., will be at 4:30pm.
The Royals had limited chances over the opening 45 minutes against Lebanon Valley (7-1), but held the game scoreless until the 39th minute when the Dutchmen got a quick one-touch strike. The deficit remained at 1-0 through halftime.
Things got crazy seven minutes into the second. After an Eastern Mennonite foul, LVC scored on a set piece. The Dutchmen then got back-to-back goals over the next 65 seconds, with backup keeper Cody Martin (Martinsville, Va./Carlisle) getting some but not enough of the third goal, and the fourth coming on a rebounded shot.
Suddenly in a 4-0 hole, the Royals fought back and got on-goal chances from Joshua Chiquillo (Woodbridge, Va./Gar-Field) and Erik Peachey (Lititz, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), but they couldn’t crack the defense. As the friendly wore on, Coach Roger Mast was able to get deep into his bench, as a handful of Royals saw their first action of the year.
Keeper Matthew Overacker (Mount Crawford, Va./Turner Ashby) played the first half and made all four of EMU’s saves. The men were out-shot 8-5 in on-goal attempts.
Share
AFP
