After a close first half, Lynchburg College pulled away from Eastern Mennonite's field hockey women in the second, taking a 6-1 decision in the regular season finale for both teams.  The Royals are 4-14 overall with the loss, including 4-4 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, as they head into the ODAC Tournament.

While statistically LC controlled the first half, the Royals hung with their hosts on the scoreboard.  The Hornets scored in the eighth minute, but the women returned fire ten minutes later.  Jenessa Derstine (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock) set up Carol Brinkley (Chester, Va./Thomas Dale) for her third goal of the season.

The score stayed even until the 23rd minute, when the Hornets scored again to go ahead 2-1.

EMU escaped the remainder of the half with just the one-goal deficit, but the second half belonged to the Hornets.  Lynchburg tacked in four more goals and held the women to just one shot attempt, producing the final 6-1 score.

LC had a 31-4 advantage in shots.  Goalie Mary Beth Danaher (Matoaca, Va./Matoaca) finished with 15 saves, her sixth double-digit save effort of the year.

Brinkley had three shots to lead the Royals, with Derstine making the only other attempt.

Despite the loss to end the regular season, Eastern Mennonite still advances to the six-team ODAC Tournament as the No. 5 seed.  The women will play at No. 4 Bridgewater College in the quarterfinals on Saturday, with the winner playing at top-seeded Lynchburg next Wednesday.  BC won the regular season meeting with the Royals 3-1 on Oct. 18 in Bridgewater, in a game where all the goals were scored in the first half.  Game time this Saturday is set for 1:00pm.

For more information on the upcoming tournament, see the pairings below and visit the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Game times will be added to the ODAC Field Hockey Tournament website (click here) as they become available.

Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook, and follow the ODAC on Twitter at @odacathletics.

ODAC FIELD HOCKEY TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS
Quarterfinals – Saturday, November 2
Game 1: #5 Eastern Mennonite at #4 Bridgewater – TBA
Game 2: #6 Washington and Lee at #3 Randolph-Macon – TBA

Semifinals – Wednesday, November 6
Game 3: Winner Game 1 at #1 Lynchburg – TBA
Game 4: Winner Game 2 at #2 Shenandoah – TBA

Championship – Saturday, November 9
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 – at highest remaining seed - TBA

Click here for the official home of the ODAC Field Hockey Tournament.