Kelsey Doutrich missed a several games at the start of the year with a variety of injuries and illness, but the freshman midfielder was healthy and in the right spot tonight as she headed home a pair of second-half goals to help the Eastern University women's soccer team to advance to the Freedom Conference Championship with a 2-1 come-from-behind win at Misericordia University.

The two teams battled through a scoreless first half. The third-seeded Eagles had most of the play and held a 7-2 edge in shots, but none of the shots found their way on goal. Eastern had two consecutive corners in the twelfth minute, and it appeared to take the lead when Kristine Zeiset's header crossed the goal line, but an Eastern foul in the box left the score at 0-0.

The Cougars gathered more of the play in the second half, but much of the action was still in the Eastern attacking half. That advantage in territory wound up hurting the Eagles as Misericordia scored in transition in the 61st minute. Kim Suchoski pushed a Sam Helmstetter pass home for her tenth of the year. 

With a 1-0 lead, Misericordia sat deeper in their defensive end and continued to frustrate the Eastern attack. Tess Beckwith finally released the first Eastern shot in the 73rd minute. Misericordia goalkeeper Morgan Myers pushed the ball over the crossbar for a corner.

In the opening match between the two teams, the Eagles had 15 corners and did not score on one, but tonight, they made the chance pay. Katelyn Rittenhouse served the ball in, where Zeiset hit the ball into a Misericordia defender. Jill DiRenzo redirected the ball toward the back post where Beckwith out-jumped her mark to head the ball back across the face of the goal. Doutrich left no doubt as she smashed her header into the top part of the net to tie the game. 

The hosts had a chance to retake the lead on a free kick from thirty yards, but Jenn Brucker's shot sailed just high. Doutrich completed the comeback with her fourth of the year in the 74th minute. A foul near the corner gave the Eagles another restart from near the corner. Rittenhouse bent a good serve into the scoring area and Doutrich met the ball five yards out. She out-jumped her mark and put her header just under the bar.

The Eagles (9-7-2) held the ball in the attacking end for much of the final thirteen minutes to secure the win. Eastern head coach Dan Mouw said of the win, "We had several really good chances early that we left unfinished, and that looked like it was going to cost us. Misericordia is very organized and they play very hard. Once they settled into the game, we really needed someone to step up and make plays. Kelsey was in the right spot and she made the plays."

Aly Goodman managed her box very well and earned the win in goal. With the win, the Eagles advance to their second consecutive Freedom Conference Championship at 1:00 on Saturday at top-seeded Manhattanville. The Valiants earned their spot in the final with a 4-0 win over Wilkes this afternoon.