A goal from junior Caleb Oakes (Waynesboro, Va./Stuarts Draft) in the 30th minute made the difference in EMU's 1-0 shutout of Shenandoah Tuesday night in Harrisonburg.

The Eastern Mennonite soccer men improve to 3-1-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and pick up a valuable three points with the win. The Royals are 5-5-1 overall as they step out of league play tomorrow night for a hosting of Gallaudet University at 7:00pm.

Oakes knocked in the game's only goal as the men stayed undefeated against Shenandoah since the Hornets joined the ODAC in 2012. The score came on a set piece from the left corner, with Joshua Chiquillo (Woodbridge, Va./Gar-Field) sending a free kick squarely in front of the goal. Oakes came crashing in and made a quick redirection into the middle of the net for his second goal of the season.

The Royals had a handful of other close chances, including a shot off the crossbar from Caleb Lasrado (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) in the ninth minute and one off the post from Oakes in the 80th. Dave Drafton (Alexandria, Va./Howard Gardner) nearly added insurance with three minutes to play, streaking up the right side on a breakaway, but the SU keeper came out and made a great stop to keep his team in the game.

EMU's defense, however, would not be beat.

The back line of Emmanuel Boamah (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac), Mathew Zimmerman (Partlow, Va./Spotsylvania), David Smith (Ruckersville, Va./William Monroe) and Lasrado limited Shenandoah to just five shots, and keeper Emmanuel Kampanga (Kinshasa, Congo/American School) picked up four saves, as the Royals earned their four shutout of the year.

With their nine points in four ODAC contests, EMU sits in a three-way tie for second after Tuesday night. The rest of the conference teams play on Wednesday.