EMU's hard-luck ways continued Saturday night, as the soccer men took No. 21 Randolph to overtime before a free kick gave the visiting WildCats a 2-1 win.

Needing win in the midst of a tough stretch in their schedule, the Royals looked good against the undefeated WildCats.  The visitors did get on the scoreboard first, however, with Blake Heatherly sticking in a direct free kick from 40 yards out in the 18th minute.

The men stuck with their game plan and nearly equalized in the 21st minute, but Adam Moyer (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock) got tangled with Randolph's keeper before he could knock a loose ball into the empty net.  Finally in the 55th minute, the Royals broke through.  Jonathan Bush (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) sent a beautiful pass to a streaking Mark Mast (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) who drilled his shot to lock up the score at 1-1.

Randolph pushed strong towards the end of regulation, and twice had a player collide with EMU's keeper, Andrew Yoder (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite).  With three minutes left, Corey Sindle and Yoder crossed paths, causing a short stop in the game as Yoder lay on the field.  He stayed in the game to finish off regulation, but left in favor of backup keeper Peter Dutcher (Sugarcreek, Ohio/Central Christian) as the game slipped into overtime.

The WildCats again seemed to have the upper hand in OT, earning a free kick from the top of the box after an EMU foul.  Sindle took the kick and found the right side of the net for the game-winner in the 96th minute.

Randolph shot freely and had a 35-12 advantage in shots.  On target shots were much closer, 11-5.  Mast, Moyer and Christian Rhine (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra) each had three shots for the Royals.

Yoder finished with seven saves in his 90 minutes of work.  Dutcher made two saves in OT.

The loss was EMU's seventh in a row, as they sit at 2-9 overall and 0-4 in the ODAC.  The men finally get a break from top-tier competition when they host Emory & Henry this Wednesday night.  The Royals have already played four of the top five teams from the ODAC's preseason poll.