Overtime thriller ends in shootout loss

Photo by Josiah Garber

Midfielder Andrew Moore eyes a loose ball in the season ending loss to Randolph-Macon at Bomberger field on Saturday.

The men’s soccer season ended at home on Saturday when they lost in overtime to Randolph-Macon in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference quarter-final match.

The Royals battled through regulation and double overtime to remain tied at 0-0. A shoot-out to determine a winner resulted in a Randolph-Macon victory after Nicholas Warner sent the winning ball past EMU goal keeper Tim Koehn. The closely matched defense of each team fought throughout the game to fend off the attack of the opposing offense. The Royals dominated the offensive attack with 19 shots on goal compared to Randolph-Macon’s 13, but neither team broke through the strong defenses. Randolph-Macon will face Virginia Wesleyan College, the number one seeded team in the ODAC on Friday, Nov. 7.

The loss followed a 1-0 win over Hampden Sydney early in the week. Senior forward Clayton Suydam recorded his ninth goal of the season off of an assist from junior Eric Blosser. The EMU defense withstood 24 shots on goal with Koehn recording five saves.

Playing their final matches this past week were seniors Kurt Holsopple, Andrew Jenner and Suydam. The Royals ended their season with an 8-4-6 record, and placed fourth in the ODAC during the regular season.