The Eagles followed up their come-from-behind win at Misericordia on Tuesday with a hard-fought 1-0 win in Saturday's Championship at Manhattanville College. Tess Beckwith put away the game's only marker when her shot rolled across the goal line with two and a half minutes to play in the first half.

The Eastern women also won Championships by 1-0 scores in 2007 and 2008. The win this afternoon gives the Eagles their third straight Conference Championship and another opportunity to compete in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, The Eagles advanced to the National Quarterfinals. The team that won last year, however, had eleven seniors, including six starters, on the roster. This year's team had the daunting task of trying to beat a team with a 13 game winning streak in order to advance to the National Tournament. 

Today's Championship was a rematch of a game just two weeks ago in Purchase. In that match, the host Valiants had knocked the Eagles into third in the league with a 3-0 result. The defeat was the first regular season league loss in four years for the Eagles. Eastern Head Coach Dan Mouw commented, "I think we left the game two weeks ago feeling like we left a lot of chances on the table. They capitalized on their chances, and we really stressed limiting their opportunities today."

The 23rd ranked Valiants had their best chance of the day just seconds in when Holly Nonis outran the Eastern backs to a loose ball and popped a ball just over the goal from eighteen yards out. Manhattanville's standout junior finished the day with five shots, but she would not find as good a look for the remainder of the day. 

The Eagles had a great chance on a corner kick in the sixth minute, but Manhttanville Goalkeeper Ali Bronson turned away Beckwith's shot from in tight. Eastern held a slim 8-7 edge in first half shots, but the visitors put six shots on frame to their host's two. Beckwith nearly got the Eagles on the board in the 18 th minute on a neat touch into space from Jillian DiRenzo, but Bronson again was up to the challenge with one of her five first-half saves.

The Eagles finally seized the lead on Beckwith's eighth tally of the year. The sophomore forward outraced a pair of Valiant backs in the final third and pushed a shot off the left upright and just across the line. Play continued briefly as a Manhattanville back knocked the ball out of the goal, but the assistant referee affirmed the goal by running toward midfield. Kori Wenger started the action of the play by winning a header near midfield and directing it to Jill DiRenzo. The senior forward redirected the ball into space where Beckwith did the rest. 

Beckwith created another chance moments later as she found her way behind the Valiant back line again. She was upended by lunging tackle attempt, but  DiRenzo's free kick sailed wide.

Goalkeeper Alysia Goodman earned Championship MVP honors with her play in the second half. The first year goalkeeper made four of her six saves, including a brilliant stop on a Nonis breakaway with a half hour to play, in the second half. Goodman played the position with athleticism and aggression as she commanded her box with a presence that belied her inexperience.

"Aly was outstanding for us," Mouw commented, "her ability to distribute over distance and to be available to our backs is really game-changing." Goodman created several chances for her team with balls over the Valiant back line.

Manhattanville had two final chances on set pieces in the last thirteen minutes. The Eagles successfully defended a Kathryn Moore corner in the 78th minute and Cybil Robinson's header on another Moore serve went wide in the 80th minute. "We spent a good deal of time in training working on defending the inswinging serve on restarts," Mouw said, " Moore serves a great ball and Manhattanville really battles for balls in the box. Kristine [Zeiset], Amy [Achey], and Ritt [Katelyn Rittenhouse]did a great job fighting for balls and getting the ball out of danger. There were not a lot of style points over the last 15 minutes, but I think our schedule helped us out late. We have had some slips over the year, but I think we've learned some valuable lessons about holding a lead. They paid off today as we held our lead late."

He continued, "Our midfield did a great job winning balls, and I think we put together some attractive sequences going forward. We asked Bethany [Engle] to step into a different role, and despite being really sick, she stepped up and played beautifully."

The Eagles worked to keep the ball in the attacking third and held Manhattanville without a shot for the final ten minutes of the match. Manhattanville, the regular season champion, falls to 17-2-1. The Eagles improve to 10-7-2 and advance to the NCAA Tournament. The bracket will be announced via webcast on Monday morning.

Box Score