Box Score In a key ODAC contest, the EMU field hockey team fell 2-1 on the road to Virginia Wesleyan. A win would have given the Lady Royals sole possession of second in the conference; the loss drops them into a tie for fourth.
Both teams entered with a 4-1 record in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Marlins broke out of a quiet first half with a goal from Taylor Lober just 4:05 before halftime.
Eastern Mennonite dominated the early minutes of the second, firing five shots on goal in the span of 12 minutes. But the women couldn't dent the cage.
Then on their first shot of the period, VWC got a score from Allie Lanna in the 50th minute to make it 2-0.
With the clock ticking, the Lady Royals surged again and freshman Jenessa Derstine (Harleysville, PA/Christopher Dock) finally broke through with 6:05 left to cut the lead in half. But that would be the final shot of the game for the women as they took the loss.
EMU had a 10-7 edge in shots and 8-4 on goal. They also had a commanding 10-3 advantage in penalty corners but came up short on the scoreboard.
Derstine topped all players with three shots, all on goal. Captain Adriana Santiago (Souderton, PA/Christopher Dock), playing in her first game since Oct. 4 (concussion), put two shots on goal.
Goalie Mary Beth Danaher (Matoaca, VA/Matoaca) had two saves.
The Lady Royals fall to 8-8 overall and 4-2 in the ODAC, muddying the waters for playoff positioning in the six-team conference tournament. A win would've put the women in sole possession of second and given them a good chance of avoiding the nation's third-ranked team, Lynchburg, until the ODAC Championship.
The women are now tied with Randolph-Macon in fourth, a half game behind 5-2 Bridgewater, and likely fighting for a chance just to host a first-round game as the fourth seed.
