Eastern University Women's Soccer saw their dream season end with a tough 2-0 loss at #2 Messiah College on Sunday afternoon. The Elite 8 appearance is the furthest NCAA Tournament run of any Eastern University team.

The Eagles earned a tough 1-0 win over the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point on Saturday to earn their date with Sectional hosts. Messiah got on the board in the 17th minute on Amanda Naeher's 32nd strike of the year. The 1-0 lead remained until Olivia Scott's shot in the 76th minute gave the Falcons an important insurance goal.

I will step out of my objective voice and write about the joy it has been to have been around this group of players for the last four years. They make me laugh a lot, and they sometimes make me lose sleep. As a team, we share joys and sorrows, and the relationships of this team will last beyond the final whistle.

When we look back, we laugh about the group of freshmen coming to a college without a home field. We have really taken to our home field- we've only lost once on Olson Field in the last two years. As we look back at some of the difficult moments of the first two years. All the while there was talent, and there was leadership waiting to burst forth. When it did, we really started to grow.

In 2007, we learned about winning, and we took a short ride in the NCAA Tournament. Ashley was named as the program's first All-American. More importantly we saw relationships deepen and new parts (good parts) of our personalities emerge.

This year, we wandered to Africa for a couple weeks in May. That was a journey all of its own, but it had a lot to do with who we are as well. We returned in August, and after a little bit of a bumpy start, we made some pasta and started to win again. We won another conference championship-- it was actually a championship of another conference. We enjoyed going out for dinner so much the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament that we decided we would do it again. 

The 11 seniors on our roster each bring something different to the team and will be missed. As a coach, it will take some time to process looking out on the field and not seeing the class of 2009. I take great encouragement in knowing that the group will stay close and that as they join the ranks of the alumni that they will see their legacy in every player that puts on the maroon and white in the years to come.

The returning players are considerably richer or having had the opportunity to compete alongside the seniors in games and against them in practice. I don't know that we really even dreamed of going to a Final Four until we went to bed last night. I think our focus was really just on trying to keep the team together for one more day.

It has been a great run, and we have enjoyed tremendous support from people around the University. It has been fun to see the success of each of the other teams this fall and to be part of the excitement that Volleyball and Field Hockey helped to build. We ran into a very good team that has a ton of post-season experience. We competed to win and were not able to, but I was very proud of the battle we put up in trying to keep things going.

With their 17-6 finish this year, this group of seniors finish their college careers with a 60-25-1 career mark. They have gone 36-10 over the past two years including an 8-2 mark in post-season competition. The 12 game winning streak that ended today also represents a new standard for Eastern Women's Soccer.

 -DPM-