The Royals had their chances but were left on the short end of a 1-0 decision against Washington and Lee at home Wednesday afternoon.  EMU's soccer men are still in search of their first ODAC win, as they take a 0-4 conference record into Saturday's contest at Randolph-Macon.

WLU got their goal in the first half, with a long bender in the 35th minute.  The rest of the game was loaded with close calls.

The Royals had their best scoring chances in the second half.  In the 54th minute, Mark Mast (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) sent a nice through ball to David Nester (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton).  Looking for his first goal in his first start, Nester instead sent his shot high.  A minute later, W&L's keeper bobbled a low corner kick but Mast could not get a good touch on the ball before the Generals got it back.

Juan Luna (Mount Jackson, Va./Stonewall Jackson) ripped a shot from the top of the box in the 65th minute, but a nice save keep it out of the net.

The game nearly took a massive swing four minutes later when EMU was whistled for a foul in the box.  The Generals were awarded a PK, but keeper Matthew Overacker (Mount Crawford, Va./Turner Ashby) made a two-handed stop and the rebounded shot sailed high, leaving the score at 1-0.

The Royals had their last great chance, and perhaps their best, with five minutes left to play.  After a corner, Joao Downs (Limon, Costa Rica/Colegio de Limon Diurno) flicked a shot which was saved.  In the resulting scrum, Jonathan Bush (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) tapped a shot but it was kept off the line by a W&L defender.

Washington and Lee had a deceiving 29-9 advantage in shots, with 13-5 on goal.  Andrew Yoder (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) made four saves and allowed the goal in the first half.  Overacker played the second and racked up eight saves.

Saturday's game at Randolph-Macon features two squads looking for their first win in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.  The Royals are 3-6-2 overall while R-MC is 2-7.

Coach Roger Mast talks about the close call with Washington and Lee: