Senior Jenessa Derstine (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock) tied a national record with five assists as the Eastern Mennonite field hockey women rolled over Sweet Briar 8-0 in their ODAC opener Thursday afternoon.  Derstine added a goal of her own, but highlighted the day by becoming the ninth player in D-III history to record five assists in a game.  The all-divisions record is seven assists.

The Royals dominated the game from the opening touch putting two shots on goal in the opening 78 seconds.  The women finally cracked the cage at the 5:10 mark, with Lorraine Armstrong (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) getting a pass back from Derstine after a corner to make it 1-0.

Melissa Cox (Mountville, Pa./Hempfield) scored in the 28th minute with help from Emily Augsburger (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), and Camille Williams (Media, Pa./Delaware County Christian) got a goal just 12 seconds before halftime with an assist from Derstine.

Williams scored again shortly after the break with another assist from Derstine.  She picked up her fourth and fifth helpers with passes to Armstrong in the 52nd minute and Emily Musselman (Telford, Pa./Souderton) in the 57th.  Williams quietly earned a hat trick a minute later when she stuck in a rebound after a pair of saved Derstine shots.  In the 63rd minute, Derstine finally got her own goal, punching in a shot after a corner.

The five assists toppled EMU's record of four, which had been done six times previously in program history.  Derstine joins a handful of D-III players who have accomplished the fete, which has been done most recently during the 2012 season.

Derstine totaled seven points with her five assists and one goal, but was still a distant effort away from Eastern Mennonite's record for points in a game, which is 14.  Kristin Moyer, who will be inducted into EMU's Hall of Honor this fall, set that mark with six goals and two assists in a game against Sweet Briar back in 2003.

For Williams, the hat trick is the first of her career.  The midfielder entered her senior season with just three career goals, but has become an offensive force in her final campaign and is tied for the ODAC lead with seven scores already.

The Royals had a comfortable 39-3 advantage in shots against Sweet Briar, including 32-2 in shots on goal.  Sophomore Hannah Daley (Lothian, Md./Southern) made a pair of saves as she earned her first career shutout.

EMU is now 1-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and 2-7 overall.  The Royals are back out of the conference this weekend, playing at St. Mary's (Md.) Saturday afternoon at 2:00pm.