ARLINGTON, Va.  – The EMU Men's Soccer team hit the highway for the second game in a three-game road trip on Saturday, traveling just outside the nation's capital to take on Marymount University out of the Atlantic East Conference.

In what turned out to be a dramatic and eventful 90 minutes of soccer, the Royals fell behind 2-0 at the half but responded with three second-half goals for a 3-2 comeback victory. Elijah Byrd, a first-year student from Gainesville, Va., kicked the game-winning goal in the 82nd minute to edge the Royals past the Saints.  
This marks EMU's first win over Marymount since 2014, snapping a four-game winless streak in the series.

Records: EMU 3-1-2 | Marymount 3-2-2

Highlights

• 10' | Marymount utilized their home field advantage to take the early lead on an unassisted goal by Jefferson Lopez Coreas.
• 16' | A few moments later, Lopez Coreas continued the spearhead the Saints' attack, scoring unassisted again to put Marymount up 2-0, a score that held up until halftime.
• 46' | Out of the break, the Royals wasted no time swinging the momentum of the match. On a great hustle play, Hamidullah Tokhi won the loose ball and caught the Marymount goalkeeper out of position with a shot that landed in the center of the net to cut the deficit in half at 2-1.
• 73' | Now looking for the equalizer, the Royals found it when Fernando Ventura got a good through ball into the box to Yan Cesar, who evaded a slide from the Marymount keeper and then flicked the ball into the net to even things up at 2-2.
• 82' | The decisive sequence began won Derek Torres won back the ball in the midfield. Torres then got off a superb pass right of the box to Tokhi, who centered it for Byrd to put in the game-winner, sending the Royals bench and fans into a frenzy.
• Saturday continued the theme of newcomers stepping up for the Royals, with first-years accounting for two of the three goals. Overall, first-year players eight of EMU's 10 goals so far this season.
• Ryan Bousfield grabbed four saves on the way to his first career win as a college goalkeeper.

Statistical Leaders
Goals:  Byrd, Cesar, Tokhi (1)
Assists:  Tokhi, Ventura (1)
Saves: Bousfield (4)

What's Next
The EMU Men's Soccer team will renew their Route 42 Rivalry with a trip to Bridgewater on Wednesday, Sept. 17.  This has been designated as a non-conference game and will not count towards the ODAC standings. Opening whistle versus the Eagles is scheduled for 4 p.m.  

To keep up to date with everything surrounding the EMU men's soccer program this year, follow EMU Athletics on Instagram, like EMU Athletics on Facebook or visit our website.