Both the EMU Royals and the Wesley Wolverines started their Friday night game ready to score. Wesley put pressure on the Royals quickly, finding their offense up three to two in a drive forward. Junior Rachel Musselman broke up the play, preventing Wesley from capitalizing on their push and allowing the Royals to regroup.

Wesley continued pushing forward, putting two shots on goal in the first five minutes. Senior goalkeeper Kelsey Troyer blocked both shots.

Eight minutes in, the Royals drew two penalty corners. On the second corner, junior Casey Webb played the ball to sophomore Lauren Hartzler, who passed it off to sophomore Kayla Maret. Maret put a shot on frame that was blocked by sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Berry. Maret followed her shot and put the rebound in the back of the net, giving the Royals a 1-0 lead.

The Royals and Wolverines both had short bursts of possession forward, but each team was able to break up the other’s drives. First-year Brandy Troutman broke up the drive of Wesley forward Kristen Fuhr, giving EMU a strong surge forward.

The Royals almost lost their momentum, but first- year Rachel Breslin came back to reclaim possession in the middle of the field. She played it to Hartzler and continued her run forward. Hartzler passed it back to Breslin. who fought off Wesley defenders to turn and get a shot off, with EMU finding the back of the net for EMU’s second score.

Down two, the Wolverines continued driving forward, attempting to put themselves on the board. With a well-slotted ball from sophomore Jessica Behornar, Fuhr was able to score and cut their deficit in half. The shot came from a steep angle on the right side that was too dificult for Troyer to block.

The goal gave Wesley momentum, leading them to dominate possession for several minutes. As some of that adrenaline wore off, EMU broke up an offensive drive, putting Wesley on their heels to try and recover.

The Royals were unable to score on their push. Possession continued back and forth throughout the middle chunk of the first half.

With ten minutes to go in the first half, EMU received their fifth penalty corner. EMU’s left side was unmarked during the penalty. The Royals saw the gap in the defense and swung the ball in that direction, leading to an eventual rebounded goal from junior Hannah Nichols. For the remainder of the first half, EMU kept their 3-1 lead.

Going into the second half, both teams were fighting to find the back of the net. The Royals were set on maintaining their lead and the Wolverines were battling to close the gap. Wesley’s Kaila Hindt and EMU first-year Skylar Hedgepeth both received green cards in the first ten minutes of the second half.

Just under 15 minutes into the second half, Wesley had several oppertunities, with three shots on goal within a three minute period. Troyer saved each shot, with the first of those allowing her to surpass Jen Kooker’s previous school record of 389 career saves.

The Royals showed a similar response, putting three shots on goal in the minute and a half following Wesley’s drive. Breslin put another two shots on goal a few minutes later. The Wolverines continued to put shots on goal, with Troyer being there to make the save. She ended the game with 11 saves.

Despite drives forward by both teams, the second half remained scoreless. The 3-1 victory gave EMU their fifth consecutive win.