Eastern Women's Soccer traveled to Allentown to take on conference foe Cedar Crest College. The Eagles snapped out of an early funk with two goals to close the first half and finished with a 5-0 win.

The visiting Falcons gave the Eagles problems early, and despite a huge disparity in first half shots, it was not until the the 40th minute that Jill DiRenzo broke the tie off a nice pass from Ashley Hackman. In the 44th minute Corie Brant turned on a ball from DiRenzo and banged a ball off the upper part of the left upright and into the net for her third of the year. Amy Stumpff made seven of her 13 saves in the opening half to hold the Eagles.

Eastern put in three goals in the first fifteen minutes of the second half to reach the final margin of victory. DiRenzo finished another Hackman cross off the inside of the left upright for her 15th goal of the year. Hackman's assist was her 16th of the season. The junior midfielder currently leads the nation in assists per game with an average of 1.14 per game. Coach Mouw comments on Hackman's passing prowess, "Perhaps the most impressive thing about Ashley's assist numbers is that she gets them all in the run of play. She is too good in the air for us to put her on the ball for corners and restarts. Because of her ability to score, defenders have to step to help, and she has a great knack for when to release the ball. This year we have some very hungry players ready to put those balls away."

It is the seventh time this year that DiRenzo has finished a ball from Hackman. Coach Mouw said of his tandem, "Jill and Ash have spent a lot of time developing chemistry together, and they have a very good feel for where the other one is going to be. Our flank players have done a tremendous job of being dangerous and creating space for those two to work."

Moments later, the Eagles struck from the left side on a  nice ball into space from Liza O'Keefe to Nicole Grindle. Grindle took one touch to clear her feet and pushed home her seventh goal of the season. In the 59th minute, Kristin Watson won a loose ball in the penalty box and slammed home her seventh of the year. 

Amanda Daveler, Amber Cummins, and Amanda Smith split the shutout in goal for the Eagles, who improve to 11-3 on the year while pushing their PAC record to 7-0. Eastern returns to action Saturday morning with an 11:30 am home game against Alvernia College in the first game of a homecoming soccer double-header.

Box Score