In a matchup of two teams trying to hold onto third place in the conference standings, the EMU field hockey women couldn't dig out of an early hole and suffered a 3-1 loss at Bridgewater College.  The Royals slide into a tie for fourth in the ODAC at 3-2, while BC improves to 4-1.

EMU's women came out strong, earning six penalty corners over the first 14 minutes, but they couldn't find the cage.  The Eagles then scored first in the 18th minute to go up 1-0.  Eleven minutes later, the home team scored again, followed by a third goal after a flurry in front of the cage in another two minutes.

Looking at a 3-0 deficit, the Royals grabbed some momentum heading into halftime, as they scored less than two minutes before the break.  Camille Williams (Media, Pa./Delaware County Christian) found Carol Brinkley (Chester, Va./Thomas Dale) with a nice long pass, and Brinkley nailed the right side of the cage for her second goal of the season.

The women continued the push early in the second, and nearly scored again in the 42nd minute, but Jenessa Derstine (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock) had two close range shots stopped.  EMU surged again in the closing minutes, taking four corners and four shots over the final 4:29, but came up empty.

Bridgewater had a 21-14 edge in shots, including 8-4 on goal.  Corners were even at 12-12.  Derstine had the most offensive chances, taking five shots.  Mary Beth Danaher (Matoaca, Va./Matoaca) charted four saves, while Mandy Stowers (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan) had a defensive save.

The Royals get another key ODAC matchup on Wednesday, hosting Shenandoah University.  The two teams are tied for fourth in the ODAC standings.  Seeds three and four host first round games in the upcoming six-team ODAC Tournament, giving the winner of Wednesday's game in Harrisonburg the inside track at hosting.