The Lady Royals had the first lead Wednesday night, but a combination of four goals in less than six minutes left the women with a stinging 3-2 loss at Shenandoah.  The defeat denies Eastern Mennonite an ODAC Tournament spot.  It will be the first time in the 31 years the ODAC has sponsored field hockey that the Lady Royals have not made the postseason tourney.

Against the Hornets, the women knew that it was a classic setup – a win would put them in the tourney, hosting a quarterfinal game as the fourth seed, while a loss would leave them out of the six-team field.  Shenandoah, which entered fifth in the standings, was also fighting for seeding.

Neither team would score until the second half, with Eastern Mennonite hitting the cage first in the 49th minute.  Senior Adriana Santiago (Souderton, PA/Christopher Dock) found Jessica Blanks (Richmond, VA/Manchester) for the score, giving the Lady Royals the first lead.

After a quiet 13 minutes, things got interesting in a hurry.  The host Hornets scored with 8:05 left in the game, locking it up at 1-1.  With 6:43 to go, SU scored again, this time after a penalty corner, to take their first lead at 2-1.

The Lady Royals dug deep and attacked on offense, earning back-to-back corners.  On the second attempt, Blanks inserted to Santiago, who rifled in a shot to re-tie the game at 2-2 with 3:11 to play.

But Shenandoah wasn't done, getting the eventual game-winner off a blocked shot with just 2:11 left on the clock.  EMU had one last chance with a corner in the final minute, but a shot from Michelle Zook (Allensville, PA/Belleville Mennonite) slipped wide, leaving the women on the outside of the ODAC Tournament.

The women were out-shot 14-8, including 8-5 in shots on goal.  Mary Beth Danaher (Matoaca, VA/Matoaca) played all 70 minutes in goal and finished with five saves.  Blanks and Santiago each notched a goal and an assist.

Santiago finishes her EMU career No. 18 on the career scoring list with 82 points.  Her 20 career assists leaves her tied for No. 13 in that category.

Eastern Mennonite closes an up-and-down season with an overall record of 4-12.  The women had six losses by two or less goals.  The Lady Royals also finish at 3-5 in ODAC play, tying with Roanoke for sixth.  The Maroons claim the final postseason berth based on a head-to-head win over EMU.