The Eastern Mennonite men's soccer team hosted Washington & Lee Wednesday night for their final home game of the regular season. After a well-played first half, the Royals wilted in the second and suffered a 4-1 loss.

The two teams went back and forth in the opening minutes with EMU getting on the board first. In the 17th minute, Philip Yoder (Keezletown, Va./Spotswood) centered the ball from the right side, perfectly setting up Osman Velasquez (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) who knocked it in for a 1-0 lead.

Five minutes later, the Generals netted an equalizer as Conor Starr rifled a shot from the top of the box which skimmed off an EMU defender and past keeper Ryan Baker (Virginia Beach, Va./Menchville).

With the scored tied, the Royals kept up their solid play and controlled much of the half, but couldn't get back into the net. EMU outshot Washington & Lee 6-3 in the opening 45 minutes.

The Generals got a fluke goal early in the second half and it gave the visitors momentum. In the 55th minute, while the Royals were trying to clear a ball in front of their net, James Pymm blocked it and the deflection bounced into the goal to make it 2-1.

Jamie Paldino scored for WLU in the 73rd minute, and the Generals got one more on a free kick from midfield which Huntley Johnson knocked in for the final 4-1 deficit.

The Royals were outshot 8-6 in the loss, including 5-2 in shots on goal. Baker finished with one save. Freshman Barkot Akalu (Shoa, Ethiopia) had the only other shot on goal for the men.

The loss eliminates EMU from postseason contention, as they only have one more game remaining and trail the 8th-place Generals by five points. The Royals are now 3-13-1 overall and 1-7-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. They wrap up the year this Saturday with a road game at Randolph.