The visiting Eagles were shut out by Messiah College 3-0 in NCAA Sweet Sixteen action.

Eastern controlled the tempo early in the first half, but were unable to find the back of the cage. Sophomore Yvonne Herbster forced the first penalty corner of the day five minutes into the game when she drive into right side of the circle and drew an obstruction call from the official. Sarah Garber took the insert and found Herbster at the top of the circle, but the shot was denied by Falcon keeper, Ashley Mowery.

Less than a minute later, Herbster forced a corner again off of a shot when Mowery's save was hit too high and deemed dangerous. Herbster took the insert for the visitors and found senior, Lindsay Moyer. However, the Eagles were unable to convert again when Mowery stepped in for another save.

The host Falcons on the other hand drew first blood when they delivered two critical blows late in the second half. Messiah scored twice in less than five minutes to put the Eagles back on their heals. 

Kourtney Ehly scored the first goal for the hosts when she was able to pull Eastern goal keeper, Laura Ressler out on a breakaway and maneuvered around the junior for an unassisted goal.

Eastern's defense refused to give following the first goal. Danielle Danser and Ressler played critical roles in inspiring the Eagles' defense. Danser stepped in to stop a breakaway attempt by Ehly. After two big back-to-back saves by Ressler, Danser stepped in again to pick up a defensive save momentarily shifting the momentum back towards Eastern. 

Messiah stepped up and took the momentum back just as quickly, less than five minutes after the first goal. The second goal, for the Falcons came off of a long cross from the right side of the field. Falcon freshman, Natalie Ziegler pushed the ball ahead and found Amber Philpot who deposited her shot into the left corner of the Eagles' cage, giving Messiah the 2-0 advantage with eleven minutes remaining in the first half. 

The hosts nearly pulled out a third goal in the first half. The Eagles dodged a bullet when Ehly found herself wide open with an open cage to shoot at with two minutes left. The shot sailed wide left and the score remained 2-0 in favor of the Falcons going into the halfway mark. 

The visitors were unable to find any offensive momentum in the second half, despite out cornering Messiah throughout the game. Every Eastern rally was immediately thwarted by Messiah.

Messiah capped off the win fourteen minutes into the second half. Ehly picked up her second goal of the game off of a cross from Katie Love, for the 3-0 lead. 

With the loss, Eastern concludes their season with a record of 18-5. This was also the second year in a row that the Eagles advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. In addition, the 2009 squad cracked the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Top 20 Poll.