Box Score
In a match-up of the top two teams in the Freedom Conference, Eastern University avenged a 2-1 loss to No. 18 Wilkes University three weeks ago by winning the Freedom Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon at Artillery Park by that same margin.
With the win, the Eagles improve to 14-6 overall on the year and have earned an automatic bid into the Division III NCAA Tournament, while the Lady Colonels fall to 17-3 and will have to wait and see if they earn an at-large bid to either the NCAA or ECAC Tournament.
Wilkes and Eastern both finished atop the Freedom Conference standings with 7-1 records during the regular season, but Wilkes earned the No. 1 overall seed and home-field advantage in the conference tournament with the 2-1 victory on October 18.
The Eagles came out the aggressors in the first 15 minutes of the game, getting the match's first shot and first two penalty corners before the Lady Colonels could answer with a shot and a penalty corner of their own. However, Eastern finally broke through at the 16:57 mark when Olivia Derr was able to deflect home a pass from Kimberly Campbell to give the Eagles the early 1-0 advantage.
Eastern seemed poised to take a 2-0 advantage less than four minutes later when Carrie Kline found herself standing alone right in front of a wide-open Lady Colonel goal. However, as she connected for a shot that seemed destined to hit the back of the cage, Wilkes' goalie Lindsay Davenport made a miraculous, full-extension diving save to keep the ball out and the score at 1-0.
“Lindsay kept us in the game by making some fantastic saves,” commented head coach
Sara Myers. She is only a freshman, but she has been making these kinds of saves all year for us and plays at a level you would expect from a senior.”
Eastern held the 1-0 edge going into the second half, but a newly energized Lady Colonel team came out of halftime and applied the pressure right away. Wilkes had three penalty corners and one shot in the first four minutes of the second stanza before finally equaling the score at the 39:46 mark when
Amanda Peters (Catasauqua, Pa./Catasauqua) took a feed from
Brittany Sines (Afton, N.Y./Afton Central) and beat Eastern goalie Laura Ressler to make it 1-1.
“Brittany played the center of the field very well for us not only today but the entire season. Looking at the stats you wouldn't realize how much of an impact she has to our team, but she has been our unsung-hero,” Myers said.
Eastern seemed undeterred by the Wilkes goal and would respond less than 30 seconds later, when Yvonne Herbster put home an unassisted goal after a mishap by the Wilkes defense to take back the lead and make the score 2-1.
Both teams would continue to battle back and forth for the remaining 30 minutes of the game, but were unable to capitalize. The Lady Colonels found themselves with a penalty corner opportunity as time expired, but after two attempts, the ball was cleared, sending Eastern into celebration.
“I couldn't be more proud of our team and what they accomplished this season,” stated Myers. “Today was a hard-fought battle between two great teams, but unfortunately it didn't go our way.”
Herbster was named the Freedom Conference Tournament's Most Valuable Player after posting a goal and two assists in Eastern's semifinal win as well as today's game-winning tally. Ressler made four saves in goal for the Eagles, while Davenport stopped six shots in the losing effort for Wilkes. Eastern held a 10-5 advantage in shots, while the Lady Colonels had a 12-10 edge in corners.
