Tough play, tougher loss
Ted Erickson fires a shot past a Virginia Wesleyan Defender.
Physical play dominated the homecoming loss to Virginia Wesleyan. The teams combined for 30 fouls.
The men’s soccer team suffered a tough loss to Virginia-Wesleyan this past Saturday during Homecoming festivities, placing them at 5-3-4 overall and 2-2-2 in Old Dominion Athletic Conference competition.
Fifteen minutes into the game the Marlins were able to take advantage of a corner kick that idled past sophomore goalkeeper, Tim Koehn, who also made some key saves during the game. Wesleyan out-cornered EMU six to three. Possession changed frequently in the first half although the Royals managed to keep the Marlins in their own territory for the majority of the second half. During Saturday’s action, Koehn tallied three saves while the backs squelched the Marlin offense for the rest of the game.
Sophomore midfielder Joel Shank led the Royals in shots with six, followed by junior forward Eric Blosser with five. Kevin Murray led the Marlins in shooting with three. The efforts of the Royal offense were not enough, however, to get past the Marlin’s senior goalkeeper, Sean Wheaton. Wheaton posted six saves giving Virginia-Wesleyan their sixth straight shutout and placing the team at 9-2 overall and 4-0 in ODAC. The win was enough to place the Marlins as the sole team at number one in the conference.
Play was physical on both sides of the field. EMU had a total of sixteen fouls as opposed to Wesleyan’s fourteen. Although tensions were high on the field, the Royals were able to refrain from getting any cards while four different Wesleyan team members received yellow cards.
The intensity level of both teams was readily apparent throughout the entire game. The Royals were ruthless on the field, knocking down every scoring opportunity that the Marlins had in the second half.
Royal energy seemed to pick up as the 200 plus fans continued to encourage the team. Koehn remarked that teamwork was an important element of Saturday’s game.
Although the Royals fell short of a victory, the tenacity and desire of the players did not. The Royals hustled to every 50/50 ball and gave a strong showing of what Mast has already noted as a ‘strong work ethic’.
The men’s team will face local rival Bridgewater College in conference action Saturday October 18th at 11a.m. on the Eagles’ home turf. Bridgewater is currently ranked number ten in the South Region with an overall record of 10-3-0 and a conference record of 5-1-0. Good luck to the Royals as they look to improve their record.
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