Menno Colleges Face Off in Soccer

When sports schedules are released, much anticipated games are circled, highlighted, and written down in the calendars. The men's home soccer game tomorrow night at 6 p.m. on the turf field against Goshen College is one of those games!

The game has been talked about for weeks and it will be settled on the 'pitch' for what is expected to be a great atmosphere and intense match underneath the lights. Senior captain Nathan Mishler tried to downplay the contest by saying, "There is a lot of hype for this game, but we are going to come out and play like it's any other game. Because our motto for the season is, "our most important game of the season, is just our next game that we're playing."

Getting the Maple Leafs and the Royals competing on the same field is a tall task for the obvious standpoint of the 10 plus hour drive that separates the two schools along with not wanting to play on the opposing teams' field. The last time the two teams met was in 2002 when EMU traveled to Goshen, In. and walked away with a very convincing 4-0 win.

Four seasons have passed since the last meeting and the game on Saturday evening is expected to be much tighter. The soccer game is so highly anticipated that Goshen College students are expected to make the trip out to Harrisonburg by the vanloads. Mishler also noted the importance of the EMU home crowd by adding, "It is definitely an advantage to us (EMU) when we have a large student fan base at the games. They help propel us to the next level, that extra 10% that we know we can give. Their support never goes unnoticed and is appreciated especially for this occasion." As a student body, come out early to the field and get your spot on the bleachers, on the grassy hill, along the sidelines, tailgate in the parking lot, and most of all be loud and cheer your Royals on as the ever most important 12th man in soccer.