A mere 21 years ago, Roger Mast stepped onto the sidelines for his first game as head coach at his alma mater. Sunday, in his 22nd season at the helm, his soccer men toppled Maryville by a score of 3-0 to pick up Mast’s 200th career victory.
Mast has had 13 seasons with a record of .500 or better, including 1996 and 1998, when Eastern Mennonite won the ODAC Tournament. After the win over Maryville, he has a career record of 200 wins, 179 losses and 35 ties.
On Sunday, the Royals picked up an impressive decision over a perennial power from Tennessee in Maryville. The Scots have a running streak of 13 seasons with 10 or more wins.
But EMU held the edge when the two teams met in Harrisonburg.
Carl Becker (Vienna, VA/James Madison) and Jonathan Bush (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) teamed up to put the Royals ahead in the 33rd minute. Becker lofted a corner kick right in front of the goal, and Bush used the height of his 6-2 body to knock a header into the net, making it 1-0.
The visiting Scots continued to push throughout the second, but EMU’s superior depth started to pay off. In the 71st minute, Sebastian Olguin (Harrisonburg, VA/Harrisonburg) got the ball after a turnover on MC’s side of the field. The senior took a few dribbles to get inside and then hit the bottom left of the net for a 2-0 lead.
Less than three minutes later, the men were at it again. This time Olguin made a charge with the ball and found a wide-open Kurtis Blosser (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) on the right side, who scored for the second consecutive day.
Maryville had a few good looks, but put one shot off the post and EMU keeper Andrew Yoder (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) preserved the shutout with six saves.
The Royals were out-shot 22-16 overall, but held a sizeable 11-6 edge in shots on goal.
Not only was the 3-0 victory Eastern Mennonite’s fourth straight win, it was also their fourth straight shutout. The Royals haven’t allowed a goal in 361:43, since a loss at Lebanon Valley on Sept. 12.
With win over Maryville ups EMU’s record to 6-3-1. The men play one final non-conference game on Wednesday, playing at Wesley.
In honor of Mast’s milestone there will be a ceremony at Eastern Mennonite’s next home game, against Bridgewater on Oct. 2.