Freshman forward Alex Wildeson’s unassisted shot at 65:18 proved to be the game-winner as Eastern Mennonite University went on to defeat Hampden-Sydney College 2-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference opener for both schools on Sunday in Hampden-Sydney, Va.
EMU improves to 3-3-1 overall and 1-0 in the ODAC. Hampden-Sydney falls to 2-5, 0-1 in the ODAC.
The Tigers jumped on the board first at the 12:45 mark Senior Michael Kraemer scored on a give and go play with an assist from senior Bobby Hillmann.
The Royals struck just before halftime to tie the score at 1-1. Sophomore Andrew Moore fired a corner towards the goal that junior Joel Shank headed in at the 40:16 mark.
Midway through the second half, senior Ted Erickson sent a shot to the far post for the Royals. Freshman Benjamin Yoder headed it up in the air. Wildeson got in position and fired the game-winner at 65:18.
Junior Tim Koehn earned the victory in goal with six saves. Sophomore Nathaniel Dallas stopped 10 shots in goal for Hampden-Sydney. Both teams had 18 shots in the contest. EMU had six corners to just two for the Tigers.
The Royals return to non-conference play on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. with a home battle against Shenandoah University.