Spearheaded by a pair of Skylar Hedgepeth (Smithfield, Va./Smithfield) goals, EMU shut out Hood College on the road Wednesday night in Frederick, Md. The field hockey women improve to 2-0 with the win.

The Royals now own back-to-back shutouts to start the year after blanking Lancaster Bible College 6-0 in their opener in Saturday.

Eastern Mennonite controlled from the opening touch against Hood and didn't allow their hosts to even attempt a shot until the third period. By then, EMU was up 2-0.

Hedgepeth hit the cage at the 9:01 mark and then again in the 21st minute.

After getting out-shot 10-0 in the first half, the Blazers settled down by the third, but the Royals scored again early in the fourth. Lauren Hartzler (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) fed Morgan Tricarico (Culpeper, Va./Eastern View) back after a corner, and the freshman stuck it in for her second career goal.

EMU finished with an 18-2 advantage in shots and 10-1 in corners. Ann Ghally (Aldie, Va./John Champe) made one save in 30 minutes of play and sophomore Rachel Breslin (Lititz, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) also swooped in for a defensive save.

The Royals will get a much stiffer challenge in their next game, this Saturday at St. Mary's (Md.). Game time is 6:00pm against the 2-0 Seahawks.