Box Score After eight straight non-conference games, it was time for the Lady Royals to see how they would fare against an ODAC school. They knew quickly, scoring just 32 seconds into Tuesday's contest at Bridgewater en route to a 5-2 win.
Adriana Santiago (Souderton, PA/Christopher Dock) dented the back of the cage in the first minute for the sudden lead. Although Bridgewater settled down and fired a couple of shots of their own, EMU scored next.
In the 12th minute, freshman Michelle Zook (Allensville, PA/Belleville Mennonite) got loose in front of the goal and put in a shot off her own rebound. Zook's first goal in an Eastern Mennonite uniform made it 2-0.
The Eagles finally got their first score in the 26thminute, but Santiago collected a rebound and made it 3-1 a mere 1:05 later. Zook jumped on board the scoring train 56 seconds before halftime, notching her second goal for a 4-1 edge at the break.
Worried about a Bridgewater surge to start the second, the Lady Royals dominated play instead. Nicole Bencsik (Telford, PA/Souderton) scored on a breakaway in the 47thminute and the defense held BC without a shot for the first 25 minutes of the half.
The Eagles cut the lead down to 5-2 in the 61st minute, but wouldn't score again as EMU took the win to move to 1-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
Santiago, Zook and Bencsik combined for 13 shots as the women held a 17-8 edge in attempts. They also limited Bridgewater to just two shots in the second half. Mary Beth Danaher (Matoaca, VA/Matoaca) finished with four saves in the cage.
Santiago has now scored in four straight games and is tied with Bencsik at five goals to lead the Lady Royals this year.
Eastern Mennonite moves to 5-4 with the win in their first ODAC game. They step back out of the conference this weekend with a road contest at Lebanon Valley Saturday at 1:00pm.
