New Chapter Unfolds in Menno’ Soccer Rivalry

Cory Parsons challenges Kyle Stiffney for a header while Brent Walbridge and David Shenk watch in anticipation. (Photo: Mark Fenton)

The battle of the Mennonite schools raged on when supporters from EMU and Goshen College traveled to “neutral” Lancaster Mennonite High School to watch their respective schools compete for the honor of the top Mennonite college soccer team.

The first to step on the pitch were the guy’s teams. EMU quickly pressured Goshen’s defense when a third minute shot by junior forward Cory Parsons forced a save by Goshen’s goalkeeper Anthony Giovarelli. Their fervor was short-lived however, when Goshen pulled away in the eleventh minute with a goal by Kyle Stiffney. EMU’s fate was sealed ten minutes later when Tony Janzen scored the first of his three goals in the game. The lone tally for EMU came in the fifty-fifth minute when a solid strike from senior midfielder Ben Yoder flew past Giovelli and into the back of the net. When the final whistle blew, Goshen had outshot EMU 21-13 and soundly defeated them by a score of 4-1. Junior striker Andrew Gascho who was sidelined with an injury said of the loss, “[It was] definitely a tough game, unfortunately we didn’t play to our potential and Goshen played a great game.”

Junior Jackson Maust and senior Josh Leinbach shared goalkeeping duties for EMU; each allowed two goals and saved three.

The women’s teams clashed next. EMU started the game slowly, allowing Goshen to take the first three shots of the game. They quickly retaliated, forcing Goshen keeper Emmy Gibson to make four saves in the first half and six in the second. Overall, EMU outshot Goshen 24-9 with nine of the fourteen players recording a shot. None of these shots could manage to sneak in for a goal, however, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw after double overtime. “We were able to connect passes well and were dominating play, we just couldn’t get anything in the back of the net,” remarked senior defender Aubrey Bauman. “We played with a lot of passion and heart.”

Freshman Goalie Abigaile Diffenbach earned her clean sheet with six saves in the one hundred and twenty minute game.

Both matches were very physical. In the men’s game, EMU was marked for eleven fouls while Goshen recorded eight. The Virginia side entered the referee’s book four times with three yellow cards and a controversial straight red given to junior Mark Pryor. Surprisingly no cards were given to the Goshen side and it seemed at times that the referee was on the verge of losing control of the game. Although the women’s game contained only one booking, the ladies committed a total of twenty-four fouls: nine coming from EMU and fifteen and a yellow card coming from Goshen.
Although seating was very limited, there was a rather large number of fans, friends, students, and alumni present. Even though Goshen fans were clearly outnumbered by EMU supporters and many had traveled ten hours, their well-rehearsed cheers echoed louder than the shouts of the scattered EMU fans. Junior Jeremy Yoder said, “We were outcheered by Goshen, I wish the EMU fans were more organized.”

Following the defeat, the EMU men boarded their bus and traveled to West Virginia where they played Bethany College the next day. Maust recorded nine saves in the 0-0 tie. The guys played their first league match on Wednesday against crosstown rival Bridgewater. Their 2-1 victory was a result of goals by senior forward Jared Byler and junior striker Junior Kamandua.