Soccer Seniors Leave a Legacy of Wins and Leadership

(Photo provided by Marketing)

Anne Diller, Contributing Writer

The 2011 season for the EMU Men’s Soccer team was nothing less than greatness. Although they did not make it to the conference championship, they accomplished many goals over the 20 game season.

“Our goals were general: to improve everyday and every match, [and] trust each other to share the ball,” said Coach Roger Mast. He was most proud of the “successes we had in conference play.”

The team finished second in the conference with a record of seven wins, two losses, and one tie within the ODAC. The Royals were able to tally a victory against Virginia Wesleyan for the first time in 13 years. The team continued with a two-to-one win over Randolph, who at the time was ranked 25 in the nation for Division III teams.

The Royals ensured their place in the post season tournament with a stalemate with Lynchburg. “Tying Lynchburg on the road was exactly what we needed to lock up the second seed in the tournament,” said Center Back Ryan Eshleman.

Another great accomplishment this season was beating close rival Bridgewater both at home and away, in regular season and after. These two games were back to back as it was the last game of the regular season and the Royals were matched up with the Eagles for the first round of tournament.

“Beating Bridgewater is always fun, and since we only tied them last year, it was good to shut them out twice and to knock them out of the playoffs. They’re a team that we should beat regularly, so it feels good to beat them, but it would be more devastating if we were to lose to them,” said Eshleman.

This year the team had to say goodbye to their seven seniors: Kevin Chico, Brent Yoder, Bryce Shank, Philip Yoder, Muoka Musau, Patrick Fox, and Mitchell Leap.

“It was very emotional,” said Mast. He described how difficult it was to see the watery eyes of his players after their last collegiate game Wednesday night. “[I was reminded of] all the time they had invested and their great leadership.” The Royals lost two to one to Lynchburg in the conference semi-final.

“I enjoyed the entire season and I’m going to miss the level of competition and the unique team bonding,” reflected Chico. The team has much to be proud of this past season, and because of their hard work the seniors were able to play their last game on their home turf.