On Saturday, Laura Rittenhouse (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) scored her first collegiate goal in EMU's 1-0 win over Notre Dame (Md.). Two days later the freshman more than one-upped herself, scoring a hat trick of goals as the soccer women exploded for a 4-1 win over visiting Hood College.

Eastern Mennonite is now 3-1-1 on the season, as a bevy of new faces have helped the women surpass last year's win total. They will get a good test over their next two games, both on the road. That swing starts at Ferrum College on Wednesday with a 4:00pm start, to be followed by a contest at Emory & Henry the following Wednesday.

The Royals seemed to have the upper hand over the first half against Hood, but neither team was able to find the net. The scoreless affair ended quickly in the second.

In the 53rd minute, Sylvia Mast (Broadway, Va./Eastern Mennonite) stole the ball away from an HC defender and found Rittenhouse inside the box. She touched the ball once towards the end line, and then knocked a tough-angled shot off another Blazer and into the goal.

Less than two minutes later, Rittenhouse took a pass from defender Kylie Paul (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) and laced a long shot from the top right of the box to quickly make it 2-0.

Hood settled down and eventually cut the margin in half when KC Miller scored on a rebounded attempt in the 69th minute.

But as play entered the final 10 minutes, the Royals got their breathing room. Freshman Shaylla Oswald (Broadway, Va./Broadway) received a weak side pass from Emily Hostetler (Marshallville, Ohio/Smithville) on a 3-on-2 breakaway, but her first shot was kick saved by HC's keeper. Oswald stuck with it, however, and pushed in the loose ball to make it 3-1.

Rittenhouse then did the work on the final goal, getting past a handful of defenders before springing open on a cutback. Another left foot across the goal easily beat the keeper, giving her the hat trick with just 1:11 left to play.

Eastern Mennonite ended with a 19-14 advantage in shots, including 10-8 on goal. Emily Young (Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax) made six saves for EMU in the second half, after Leah Wenger (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) made one stop in the first.

Coach Ted Erickson enjoyed watching the offense come together: