The Royals showed they are back on the ODAC scene Saturday afternoon, rolling to a 4-1 win at Randolph College.  The four goals are the most the soccer women have scored in an ODAC game since their last conference win, a 4-1 decision at Hollins to end the 2011 season.

Despite controlling the opening minutes at Randolph, the Royals found themselves in a hole after a turnover gave the WildCats the game's first goal in the 22nd minute.

Finally in the 32nd minute, Eastern Mennonite netted the equalizer, with Nora Osei (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) punching in a corner kick from Morgan Hill (Martinsville, Va./Carlisle).

The game took a turn a minute later, when a Randolph player received a red card after getting tangled up with an EMU player.  The one-man advantage paid off in the 53rd minute, when Osei scored again on a fantastic long ball from defender Erica Detweiler (Hickory, N.C./Fred T. Foard).

But in just another minute, Osei collided with Randolph's keeper on another long pass and was also given a red card, leaving the teams to play 10-on-10 the rest of the way.  The Royals got the insurance they needed in the 73rd minute, when keeper Becca Borg (Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula) launched a free kick over the defense to set up Kendall Moyer (Fincastle, Va./James River) for a 3-1 lead.  Then with four minutes to go, Jessika Coffey (Waynesboro, Va./Stuarts Draft) scored off a saved shot from Kristen Kirby (Fishersville, Va./Wilson Memorial) to provide the final margin.

Eastern Mennonite had an 18-12 edge in shots, but more importantly a 15-6 domination of shots on goal.  Borg finished with five saves in goal.

Osei now has nine goals on the season, equaling her scoring total from last fall.  Moyer is second on the team with four scores.  Hill has six assists in 2013, also tying her total from last year.  As a team, the Royals have scored 22 goals in seven games, after putting in 19 in 17 games in 2012.

More importantly for the women, their convincing win over Randolph, a team picked one spot above them in the ODAC Preseason Poll, was also a sign they have significantly improved from last year.

Now 6-1 on the year and 1-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, the Royals play their final non-conference game on Thursday at Hood.  Game time in Frederick, Md., is 4:30pm.