Coming inches from another win against a top tier team, EMU's soccer men were forced to settle for a quality draw against Randolph College Saturday afternoon in Harrisonburg.  Playing in front of a Homecoming crowd listed at 706, the Royals earned a point with a 0-0 tie against the ODAC's second-place team.

The WildCats, who entered the day undefeated in league play with three wins and two ties, seemed to have an edge in the early goings, but Eastern Mennonite got stronger as the day went along.

Keeper Daniel Nyce (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) made a pair of saves in the opening 1:09 and had five stops by the 29th minute to help the men stem the tide.

The Royals started to gain momentum midway through the second.  Juan Luna (Mount Jackson, Va./Stonewall Jackson) nearly scored on a free kick in the 72nd minute, but his shot glanced off the crossbar.

As the game slid into overtime, the big home crowd seemed to sense a goal, and the men nearly obliged.  Randolph keeper CJ Stevens made a diving save on Dave Drafton's (Alexandria, Va./Howard Gardner) breakaway in the 98th minute.  The Royals earned two corners out of the sequence, but it ended when a long rip from Drafton cruised above the goal.

Luna had a chance to end it in the second OT, but Stevens leaped for his best save of the day on Luna's slicing liner in the 103rd minute.  Eastern Mennonite finished with a 9-3 advantage in shots in the 20 extra minutes, including four on goal.  In spite of the clear momentum, the game ended in the scoreless tie.

Shots finished even, with each team attempting 19.  Randolph had a 10-7 edge in shots on goal.  Nyce racked up a career best 10 saves.  Luna had a match high five shots, putting two on target.

The Royals are now 1-0-2 over their last three games, all Old Dominion Athletic Conference sides.  They have a win over third-place Roanoke and now a tie against the second-place WildCats.  EMU (3-8-2 / 1-2-2 ODAC) is in a three-way tie for eighth place in the league standings with five points.  The men hit the road next week, starting at rival Bridgewater College Wednesday afternoon at 4:00pm.

1998 Men's Soccer Team
Ealier in the day, the 1998 men's soccer team was inducuted into the EMU Hall of Honor.  That year's team won their second ODAC Championship in three years, but also earned the program's first NCAA National Tournament bid.  The Royals beat Emory College to advance to the Sweet 16 of the tourney, before losing to regional host Greensboro College.

The 1998 men's soccer team is one of only four Eastern Mennonite teams in the Hall of Honor, along with the 1976 men's cross country, 1980 field hockey and 1995 field hockey teams.

Coach Roger Mast said that with his team's momentum, the game ended too early: