The Royals came up on the short end of a tough, rivalry game Tuesday night when Bridgewater scored the game-winning goal with 22 seconds left to play.  The men had tied the game less than two minutes earlier and left the field stunned with the loss.

EMU controlled the opening few minutes and narrowly missed taking an early lead.  Christian Rhine (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) had a great shot saved less than three minutes in, and Kurtis Blosser (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) hit the post 30 seconds later.

The visiting Eagles settled down and then grabbed the lead in the 29th minute on a through ball to Sawyer Janes.

Bridgewater fought off the Royals through most of the second half, with their keeper making a number of nice saves.  But the men finally got the equalizer with just 2:11 left in regulation.  EMU earned a corner kick, with Carl Becker (Vienna, VA/James Madison) tapping a short pass in to Caleb Golladay (Mt. Jackson, VA/Stonewall Jackson).  The junior ripped a shot from the right corner of the box and Mark Mast (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) deflected it into the net to lock things up at 1-1.

But the Eagles weren't done, with Janes getting a pass as he broke through the EMU defense, scoring a goal with just 22 seconds left to clinch the decision.

Shots were relatively even, with EMU up 19-17.  Each team had six shots on goal.  Andrew Yoder (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) finished with four saves.

Rhine led all players with six shots, including two on goal.

The tough loss is the Royals' third in a row, all by a 2-1 final.  Eastern Mennonite is now 6-6-1 overall, including 3-2 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.  Next up the men host Roanoke Friday night at 7:00pm.

Coach Roger Mast after the game: