Thursday night the Lady Royals played their first home game in nearly four weeks. Despite handily outshooting visiting Randolph-Macon, the field hockey women were denied any goals and suffered a 3-0 loss in a game played in a constant misting rain.

Eastern Mennonite came out strong, earning four corners and taking four shots in the first ten minutes. But none of the shots were on goal and R-MC successfully withstood the women's opening charge.

The Yellow Jackets then struck downfield and snuck in a goal on their first shot at 11:04. Seven minutes later, the visitors added another and suddenly led 2-0.

The Lady Royals continued to pepper shots on the offensive end but couldn't score despite outshooting R-MC 13-5 in the first half.

EMU had another surge early in the second, but the Yellow Jackets had the more effective attack, scoring their third goal in the 50th minute.

The final 20 minutes ticked away without another goal, as Randolph-Macon claimed the 3-0 win.

Aside from the final score, Eastern Mennonite controlled much of the game. The Lady Royals had a 22-11 edge in shots, although it was just 7-6 in shots on goal. The women also had a 9-0 advantage in corners in the first half alone, finishing at 13-2.

Adriana Santiago (Souderton, Pa./Christopher Dock) led the offense with three shots on goal. Defender Hailee Rittle (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) added two shots on goal.

Goalie Becky Nolt (East Berlin, Pa./Bermudian Springs) had three saves in the loss. Freshman Mary Beth Danaher (Matoaca, Va./Matoaca) played the final 14 minutes in goal.

The loss is EMU's second in a row and drops the women to 5-4 overall and 1-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Lady Royals continue their four-game home streak this Saturday when they host Lebanon Valley at 2:00pm.