The Eastern Mennonite women's soccer team made their way back to the pitch Sunday night. Despite an impressive defensive effort from the Royals, they fell 2-0 against Bridgewater at home.

Due to injuries, the Royals were shorthanded throughout the game, causing many of the players to play throughout the majority of the contest with limited or no substitution time. Despite that, the Royals were able to keep defensive pressure on the Eagles to keep the game within striking distance.

An early goal from Alicia Keo put Bridgewater on top, but Eastern Mennonite would keep it there throughout a majority of the game. It was not until the the 82nd minute that the Eagles would push across their second goal. 

In the defensive effort, Megan Breidigan (Douglasville, Pa./Daniel Boone) and Laura Troyer (Millersburg, Ohio/Central Christian) became a wall in the backfield, stopping many attacking crosses from the Eagles. Adding to the effort, Rachel Sauder (Lyndhurst, Va./Stuarts Draft) and Samm Livermore (Dunn, N.C./West Johnston) were able to maintain a steady line of defense, shutting down some of Bridgewater's top scorers. 

"I was really happy with our entire team as a group," head coach Ted Erickson said on his team's performance. "Because of injuries, it was essentially 13 on our roster against 28 for Bridgewater. And that 28 is a top three ODAC team and a NCAA tournament level team."

In 2019, the Eagles made a run in the ODAC tournament, falling to Randolph-Macon in the semi-finals in overtime. 

With the loss, the Royals fall to 0-1 on the young season and the Eagles remain undefeated, 3-0 overall and 2-0 with the ODAC.

Anna Filipkowski (Louisa, Va./Louisa County) turned in an impressive effort in the net, notching eight saves. 

The Royals find themselves back in action in a week, hosting Washington and Lee in an ODAC contest at home on Sunday, Mar. 7.