Women’s soccer: EMU loses at home to Roanoke College

The EMU soccer women put a scare into Roanoke College Saturday afternoon in Harrisonburg before two late goals spelled a 3-0 defeat.

Eastern Mennonite slides to 6-7-1 and 2-4-0 in the ODAC, while the Maroons improve to 6-5-3 and 4-2-0. The women have a tough contest at Washington and Lee on Tuesday, before hosting Guilford in an important ODAC date next Saturday.

Although Roanoke had a 9-0 advantage in shots in the first half, the Royals made sure most of the shots were not serious threats. The visitors did cash in on their best chance, when defender Laura Sullivan connected on a header off a corner in the 23rd minute.

The back line of Emma Petersheim (Linville, Va./Eastern Mennonite), Sophia Hartman (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg),Kylie Paul (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) and Mikaela Zook (Millersburg, Ind./Northridge) thwarted the rest of Roanoke’s attempts.

EMU hung with their guests in the second half, and Laura Rittenhouse (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) nearly equalized in the 72nd minute. The freshman pushed up the right side on a break and her powerful shot initially skipped out of the hands of Roanoke’s keeper before the net-mender made a second grab at it for the save.

The deep bench of the Maroons finally proved its worth, however, as they scored insurance goals in the 74th and 79th minutes to provide the final margin.

EMU charted just two shots, with Rittenhouse and Sierra Martin (Glenwood Springs, Colo./Glenwood Springs) making the attempts. Freshman keepers Emily Young (Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax) and Leah Wenger (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) again split halves, with each making three saves.