Eastern University Field Hockey pushed the second ranked Lions of the College of New Jersey to a 1-1 tie  through 100 minutes of regulation play before falling in penalty strokes. It was the Eagles' second close loss of the week to a top ten program.

Both teams used penalty corner opportunities to score their goals. The Lions controlled more of the action in a fairly even first half and picked up their goal on their second penalty corner opportunity of the game. Kendra Boyd started the play from the hash and took a return ball from Alex Okuniewicz for a short shot on the left side of the cage. TCNJ held a 7-5 advantage on corners in the opening half.

Eastern earned just one penalty corner in the second half, but Lindsay Moyer made it pay with a booming strike from the top of the circle that hit the board on a fly. Sarah Garber earned the assist on the push out. Sophomore goalie Laura Ressler stepped up as the star of the second half with five saves. The Eastern defense fought off 11 corners in the second period. Head Coach Camrin Azzarano said of her team's effort, "I am really pleased with how much we learned from Tuesday's game (a 3-1 loss to Messiah College). We played with great grit and toughness. The girls were very coachable and responded to everything we asked them to do."

Eastern used eight players in their first year with the program, and the new players figured prominently in the fast-paced overtime periods. The Eagles ventured into the TCNJ circle in both overtime periods and had several opportunities in the counterattack. They were not, however, able to release a shot until the final seconds of the second period when Kristin Brownett nicked the outside of the far post with a blast from the top of the circle as time expired. For the game, the Lions held a 20-8 advantage in shots and a 22-9 edge in corners. Ressler made 12 saves in 65 minutes of action.

Both teams made their first two strokes. After Eastern's third stroke hit the pipe and went wide, Ressler came up with a big blocker save to keep the game level. TCNJ goalie Shannon Syclarz then made a pair of great saves on the next two Eastern strokes, and the final TCNJ field player tucked her stroke just inside the post for a 2-1 win. Azzarano said of the end of the game, "We placed our strokes well, but their keeper made a pair of very good saves, and they executed their strokes very well. We made big strides today, and we will continue to get better. I think we can find a lot of things in today's games to help us grow in our confidence."

The Eagles return to action at noon Saturday with a non-conference game at Swarthmore College.