Box Score
PURCHASE GAME DVD
BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Sophomore Rachael Loy found the back of the net and broke a 1-1 deadlock with less than five minutes to play in overtime to propel the fourth-seeded Bridgewater Eagles field hockey team past fifth-seeded Eastern Mennonite by a 2-1 score in the quarterfinal round of Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament.
With the win, Bridgewater (12-6) will advance to Wednesday's semifinal game at top-seeded Lynchburg.
Out of the gate, Eastern Mennonite took control rattling off a number of shots before getting on the board early in the 17th minute. Melissa Cox drove a pass across the line to Carol Brinkley and Brinkley fired a shot into the back of an open net to put the Royals up 1-0.
Eastern Mennonite (4-15) continued to control play throughout the first half before the Eagles netted the equalizer as halftime approached. With less than a minute to go in the first half, senior Colleen Dickson dished a pass off in front of the net to Allison Kirk and Kirk pushed the ball into the back of the cage to tie the score up at a goal each as the contest went to the half.
Over the opening 35 minutes of play, Eastern Mennonite outshot Bridgewater by a 6-4 tally and owned a 5-3 edge in corners.
Bridgewater went on the attack early in the second half, earning six corners over the opening nine minutes of the second stanza, but the Eagles couldn't get on the board as Eastern Mennonite cleared the ball towards midfield and used a timeout.
The barrage of corners continued for the Eagles over the remainder of the second half but neither team could get on the scoreboard as the contest went to an overtime session. Bridgewater outshot the Royals by a 14-4 margin in the second half and owned a 12-3 advantage in corners in a half thoroughly dominated by the Eagles.
At the start of the overtime set, Bridgewater continued to pound the Eastern Mennonite goal, but Royals netminder Mary Beth Danaher was up to the task, turning away six Bridgewater shots over the opening 10 minutes of the frame to keep the scored tied up at a goal each.
With 3:53 to play in the first overtime, sophomore Caroline Fletcher fired a shot and it was blocked, but Loy cleaned up the rebound and fired a shot into the back of the cage to send Bridgewater to its second straight semifinal appearance with a 2-1 victory over its cross-county rival. The goal was Loy's fourth game-winner of the season.
After owning a 7-0 advantage in shots in the overtime set, Bridgewater turned in a 25-10 lead in shots in the win with junior Caroline Augsburger's six shots leading the way.
Senior netminder Jessica Balsano earned her 12th victory of the season by turning away five Eastern Mennonite scoring opportunities on the day.
Bridgewater's 12 victories on the year are the most since the program turned in a 14-win season in 1980.
Eastern Mennonite was led offensively by three-shot efforts from Camille Williams and Brinkley. Danaher posted a dozen saves in the loss.
Bridgewater now moves on to play Lynchburg in the semifinal round of the ODAC tournament. Start time in Wednesday's game with the top-seeded Hornets has yet to be determined.
