LYNCHBURG, Va. – For the second straight season, EMU Men's Soccer's postseason journey began at Lynchburg, facing off with the top-seeded Hornets in the ODAC Quarterfinals. Unfortunately for the Royals, their 2025 campaign came to an end in The Hill City with a 4-1 loss.
Andrew Arledge, a senior goalkeeper from Fredericksburg, Va., went out with a solid performance in net for the Royals. Arledge made 14 saves, setting a new career high for a saves in a game.
Records: EMU 7-7-5, 2-5-2 ODAC | Lynchburg 15-1-2, 8-1 ODAC
Highlights
- Lynchburg broke the ice on the scoring with a goal by Carlos Andres Romero in the 21st minute. A short while later, in the 33rd minute, Izaack Cruz followed that up with another goal to put the Hornets up 2-0.
- Late in the first half, EMU took advantage of a Lynchburg mistake when a Hornets player headed the ball into his net for an own goal. That allowed the Royals to cut the deficit in half at 2-1 going into halftime.
- The Hornets ultimately pulled away with two more second half goals, one each by Saul Lopez Coreas and Chris Wiley.
- The Royals got a couple of good chances late on shots by Kane Kiernan and Yan Cesar but could not find the back of the net again.
Statistical Leaders
Shots: Cesar, Kiernan (1)
Saves: A. Arledge (14)
What's Next
That concludes the 2025 season for EMU Men's Soccer. The Royals graduate seven players but will return eight of the 11 players from tonight's starting lineup as well as over 80% of their goal scoring in 2026.
