WINCHESTER, Va. – The Shenandoah University women's lacrosse team clinched a home game in the upcoming ODAC Tournament with an 18-12 win over Bridgewater Tuesday night at rainy Sprint Field at Shentel Stadium.

Shenandoah (11-5, 5-2 ODAC) will host either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed on Wednesday, May 2 in the opening round of the tournament thanks to its win over Bridgewater (10-5, 3-4).

An SU win Saturday at Lynchburg clinches the third seed, which would mean Coach Lindsey Lutz' club would draw Roanoke in the first round of the tourney.

A Lynchburg win sends Bridgewater back up I-81 for a rematch with the Hornets.

Shenandoah faces Lynchburg on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Tuesday's game started fast as the two teams combined six goals in the opening four minutes of the contest.

A five-goal SU run, started by Alyson Bittinger at 27:17 and ending with a Jordyn Miller goal at 20:00, gave the hosts the lead for good.

The Eagles answered with three straight to cut the deficit to one, 6-5, with exactly 15 minutes left, but the Hornets reeled off a 5-1 run to complete the half and reassert control of the contest.

The final goal in this run, an Abby Zorrilla-to-Annie McCorry tally, came as the first half buzzer sounded.

Bridgewater would come no closer than four goals the rest of the way as Shenandoah outscored its visitors 7-6 in the second stanza.

Sophomore Cassie Arndt led the victors with seven goals and two assists while also picking up five groundballs and causing three turnovers.

SU outshot the Eagles 36-25, had a 34-20 advantage in groundballs and saw goalkeeper Maddie Albornoz make 12 saves.

Bridgewater won 18 of the 31 draws.

"I am proud of this team for claiming a home game in the tournament next week." Lutz said. "We have worked hard all season and this is a great reward."

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