It wasn't going to be easy. For the second year in a row, Eastern University Women's Soccer earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a hard-fought 1-0 win. Ashley Hackman scored the game-winning goal on a corner kick in the 81st minute to lift the Eagles over Delaware Valley College for  the Freedom Conference Championship.

Eastern entered the match with an eight game winning streak. In that run, the Eastern defense had given up just a pair of goals while earning seven shutouts. The back line would have to be very good again today, as Del Val applied pressure in the back half of the Eastern midfield for much of the opening half. Amy Achey and Steffie Sauder worked to keep Elise Dauber, the 2007 Freedom Conference Player of the year and this year's top scorer in the league away from goal. They were, for the most part, successful, but the Aggies were able to earn three corners and a dangerous restart that Christine DelTurco put on goal.

At the other end of the field, the Eagles struggled to unlock the Del Val defense. Eastern had outscored their opponents 31-1 in home games this year, but were held without a shot on goal until the 44th minute. That shot a thirty-five yard bomb from Hackman rattled the crossbar before DelTurco could clear it from danger. Corie Brant and Kara Neef each served several quality balls into the scoring area, but Del Val was up to the challenge on each one. Eastern Head Coach Dan Mouw said of the opening half, " I thought they came in with a very solid game plan and they executed really well. We were a little unlucky not to get one on Ash's shot late, but their #7 [DelTurco] seemed to be everywhere. Kevin and his staff did a great job preparing their team, and they made it very difficult."

The earlier meeting between the two teams in October went to halftime at 0-0 as well. This time, Del Val earned the first two shots of the second half. Amanda Daveler, who finished the day with four saves, made saves on both to keep the game level. From the 51st minute, the Eagles began to apply steady pressure on the Del Val goal. Del Val's Courtney Bower made six second-half saves to frustrate the Eastern attack. Neef appeared to have Bower beat on a long shot from the right side, but the ball hit the underside of the crossbar and stayed out of the goal.

Throughout the second half, the Aggies looked to be dangerous in the counter. Their best chance of the match came in the 64th minute on an Eastern corner that went wrong. With two backs forward, Dauber flicked a clear into space for Johanna Lovallo who appeared to be in on a breakaway. Eastern freshman Katie Ruth closed the gap just before the edge of the box and knocked the ball out of the middle. The Aggies were able to keep the ball in the danger zone, but were not able to get a shot on goal.

Another Neef serve created a dangerous chance in the 77th minute, Lauren Roe put her head on the ball first, and Kristine Zeiset headed the ball just over the bar. Early in the 81st minute, Zeiset nearly broke the tie on a well timed run onto a Jill DiRenzo pass. The first year standout fired a shot bound for the left upright that Bower somehow managed to parry around the post for a corner kick.

That corner kick turned out to be the difference. Neef hit a hard in-swinger to the back post that a well-marked Hackman headed home for her team best 14th goal of the year. Eastern held the Aggies without a shot the remainder of the day to secure their second trip to the NCAA Tournament. "I am very pleased for the girls," Mouw said, " ever since we finished last year, they talked about getting back to the Tournament. The year didn't quite start out like we wanted it to, but we have figured out ways to win. Del Val played very hard today, and they should really be commended for a great year, but our seniors stepped up and made the big play when we needed it."

Eastern finished the year unbeaten on Olson Field with just one goal allowed at home. After starting the year 0-3, Eastern improves to 14-5. Del Val falls to 14-4-1.

The Eagles will learn the date, location, and opponent for their first game in a national webcast event on Monday at noon.