Box Score

In the battle of the remaining unbeaten teams in the Freedom Conference, Wilkes University was able to hold off Eastern University on the final play of regulation to capture a 2-1 victory and keep their spot on top of the conference standings.

 

With the win, the Lady Colonels are now 13-1 on the season and a perfect 4-0 in the conference, while Eastern's record slides to 8-6 overall and 3-1 in the Freedom.

 

In a back and forth battle that saw numerous flurries in front of both team's cages, Wilkes was able to sustain a final burst by Eastern at the very end of regulation. With less than five seconds on the clock, Eastern's Christin Haas broke away from the pack for a one-on-one with Wilkes' goalkeeper Lindsey Davenport (Dallas, Pa./Dallas). Davenport came out and stopped Haas before she could make a move, but the Eagles were able to muster a penalty corner out of the play as time expired.

 

However, on the ensuing corner, a cross from an Eastern player went untouched and out of the box which prompted the final whistle and sent Wilkes into celebration.

 

“I was really satisfied with the way we played today because it was the first time this year that we played a full 70 minutes,” stated head coach Sara Myers. “We won because it was a total team effort.”

 

Wilkes would take command of the game early when Diana Wright (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) took a pass from Gina Elmy (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./G.A.R.) off a penalty corner and rifled a shot from the edge of the box into the back of the cage at the 23:38 mark. The game would remain 1-0 into halftime.

 

The Lady Colonels padded their lead less than a minute after the break off of another penalty corner. Elmy would strike a feed out to Wright would crossed the ball in front of the cage where Alyssa Koncelik (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) was able to deflect it in for the 2-0 advantage.

 

“We were able to capitalize on our offensive corners and made the most of our opportunities,” commented Myers.

 

Wilkes seemed destined to put the game out of reach only a few minutes after their second goal when they were awarded a penalty stroke. However, Eastern's Laura Ressler made a nice save on Alyson Paulauskas (Shavertown, Pa./Lake-Lehman)' attempt to keep the Eagles in it.

 

Eastern would finally break through with a goal of their own at the 47:52 mark when Kimberly Campbell came up with a loose ball in front of the Wilkes' cage and put it in to make the count 2-1.

 

The game would go back and forth the rest of the way, but neither team could break through, ending the game with the 2-1 tally in the Lady Colonels favor.

 

Davenport was credited with four saves on the afternoon, while Ressler made 11 stops in the losing effort. Wilkes held a 15-12 edge in shots, while Eastern had a commanding 14-5 advantage in corners.

 

The Lady Colonels will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Dallas to take on conference foe Misericordia at 4 p.m.