The Emory University men's soccer team saw its season come to a close Sunday evening as the Eagles fell by a score of 1-0 to Hanover College in the Second Round of the NCAA Division III tournament. The opening rounds were played at the Woodruff PE Center in Atlanta, GA.
With the loss, Emory wraps up a strong 2021 campaign with a 9-4-5 overall record while the Panthers run their record to 16-4-1 and advance to the second weekend to face Messiah College in the Sweet 16.
With both teams playing less than 24 hours prior, neither side could get much going offensively in the early goings of the back-to-back as the game went into the halftime break scoreless with the two squads combining for four total shots (HC 3-1).
The score remained deadlocked until Hanover was able to break through in the 58th minute as Xander Ochsner scored from distance off the feed from Evan Redmon. The goal was Ochsner's second of the season.
The Panthers kept the Eagles at bay until the final stages of the contest when Emory opted to switch to an almost all-attacking lineup to try and net the equalizer.
Senior Ethan Cohen had a header on frame with 15:30 left to play but HC's Luciano Salemi was there to make the easy stop. With 6:10 showing on the clock, fellow senior Charlie Scruton had another opportunity but his header attempt went just over the crossbar.
Emory's strongest scoring threat came with 3:30 remaining as Cohen headed a free ball sent into the box from Alejandro Gomez. Cohen's shot seemed destined for the far post but Salemi made an outstanding diving save. Junior Luke Price was there with an attempt on the rebound but narrowly missed wide.
The Eagles finished with an 11-6 advantage in shots and a 4-3 lead in shots on goal. Hanover had the corner kick edge, 3-1, with the Eagles earning their first corner during the final minutes of the contest.