Eastern University Women's Soccer started 11 seniors in their final regular season home game Saturday. It was a junior, however, who got things going with a great goal. Lauren Roe scored her first career goal to spark the Eagle attack to a 4-0 win over Manhattanville College. With the win, the Eagles assured themselves a first round home game in the Freedom Conference playoffs.
The game started primarily in the middle of the field as both teams negotiated the wet surface. The third corner kick of the half provided the big break for the Eagles in the 33rd minute of action. Steffie Sauder served the initial ball in, and the Valiants knocked the ball clear of the box but not from the scoring area. Eastern pushed the ball back to the left side for Sauder, who curled a firm cross into the dangerous area just outside the six yard box. Roe jumped to meet the ball and hammered home a header just below the crossbar.
Eastern head Coach Dan Mouw said of his junior midfielder's effort, "Lauren is always good in the air, so it is not surprising to see her get on the end of the cross. It was really cool to see her get her first goal on such a big day for her older teammates. That goal really got us going."
Eastern doubled the lead five minutes later on great individual effort from Ashley Hackman. The All America midfielder picked up a ball on her own side of midfield and ran at the Manhattanville defense. The Eastern forwards pulled the back line apart with well-timed runs, and Hackman ran right up the middle. A quick move thirty yards from the goal helped the senior captain to earn the box. After her initial shot was saved, Hackman tapped in the rebound for her tenth of the year.
Eastern continued to press the goal coming out after the half. The Eagles increased their lead to four with two goals in the first six and a half minutes of the half. First year forward Allison Inch set up both goals.
In the 49th minute of the match, Inch checked into the midfield for a pass from Hackman. With her first touch she curled a beautifully-weighted ball over the Valiant backs and in into the space in front of the goalkeeper. Jill DiRenzo timed her run perfectly and touched her shot just before getting leveled by the onrushing goalkeeper. The goal is the tenth of the year for the junior standout.
Two minutes later, Inch earned the end-line on the left side. She cut a ball back toward the dangerous scoring area, and fellow freshman Kristine Zeiset left no doubt with a strong right-footed shot to the upper left corner of the goal. The Eagles kept the Valiants away from their goal through the second half. Amanda Daveler made a pair of saves to earn her ninth shutout of the year.
The Eagles finished the match with all 11 seniors on the field together. Mouw said of his senior class, "It is impossible to really process the contributions of this class. As much as I have been able to find out, no other team at Eastern has ever had as many athletes complete their senior season. This is a really special group of people. In addition to their athletic accomplishments, this group has excelled in the classroom and has modeled service to each other and the larger community. It was a joy to be able to recognize them as a group today."
The Eagles return to action in a game that will determine the top seed in the Conference at DeSales on Wednesday at 3:00 pm.
