September 10, 2005
Monarchs fall in home opener, 1-0 against Eastern Mennonite in Adidas/Methodist Classic

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – The first victory of the 2005 men’s soccer season wasn’t in the cards for the Methodist Monarchs on Saturday. Playing host to the Adidas/Methodist Classic at Monarch Soccerplex, the Monarchs dropped a tough 1-0 decision against visiting Eastern Mennonite.

Methodist is now 0-2-1 on the season.

After a scoreless first half, Eastern Mennonite came through with the game’s lone score on a goal by Jared Byler in the 60th minute. However, Methodist had plenty of opportunities.

Ryan White twice missed on close shots inside the penalty box in the second half, and then a 25-yard strike by Chris MacDonald with 11 minutes remaining hit the cross bar and came down into the hands of Royal goalkeeper Tim Koehn. Finally, with a couple of minutes remaining, Kevin Gray’s 15-yard strike from the top was saved by Koehn.

Methodist goalkeeper Jeremy Belnapp recorded three saves for the Monarchs. Methodist plays host to Emory on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Adidas/Methodist Classic.