Eastern University Women's Soccer tallied a pair of late goals to earn a 4-2 Homecoming day win over Wilkes University in an important Freedom Conference game on Saturday. Tess Beckwith scored twice and added an assist as the Eagles fought off a pair of Colonel rallies.

Beckwith opened the scoring in the third minute on a solid inside run in the final third. She took a pass from Alli Inch and pushed her initial sot off the inside of the right upright. The junior forward beat a trio of Wilkes defenders to the ball and popped the ball into the middle of the net for a 1-0 lead.

The Eagles continued to control possession and field position until Wilkes broke free in the 19th minute and earned a corner kick on the left side of the field. Taryn Hollowell hooked a strong corner to the back post where Megan Clementson had gained inside position for a short finish. With the  score level, the Eastern women again applied pressure in the Wilkes end, but the home side was unable to get behind the Wilkes back line until the 27th minute.

Bethany Engle started the play with a patient move in the midfield. She played a ball into Kelsey Doutrich who slotted a ball into space for Carly Inch on an overlap on the left side. Inch earned the edge and drove a cross behind Doutrich at the near post. Beckwith was also in ahead of the serve, but the junior forward dropped the ball backwards to Michelle Brown for a solid finish from 15 yards out. 

It looked as though Brown's goal was going to stand as the game-winner, but the Colonels had other plans. Lindsay Ellis won an aerial battle after a big switching ball in the midfield. The sophomore midfielder was able to push the ball out of her feet and crack a 25 yard blast into the upper right corner to knot the score with eight minutes to play.

"That was a frustrating turn of events for us, "Eastern Head Coach Dan Mouw commented, "We had several golden opportunities early in the half where we were unable to capitalize, and we broke down in the late minutes to give them the equalizer. We have to be better at holding leads."

The Eagles won their first Freedom Conference game of 2010 in overtime, and it looked as though today's game was headed that direction, but things changed with a set piece in the 88th minute.

Katie Ruth took the corner and Kristine Zeiset won the battle in the air for the ball. The junior midfielder redirected the ball to the ground where Alli Inch was open just a few yards in front of the goal. Inch left no doubt with a shot into the top half of the net.

"We struggled with corners all day," Mouw stated, "but Katie made the decision to go quickly and she delivered a quality ball. Kristine gave us what we had been looking for all day with that toughness in the box. That urgency was what made the difference."

Forty-five seconds later, the Eagles added an insurance goal. First year goalie Megan Polulak, who was seeing her first action of the year, cut away a Wilkes cross and delivered a long kick out toward midfield. Zeiset won the ball cleanly and chipped a ball behind the back line. Beckwith saw the pass early and slipped in behind the Wilkes defenders just after the ball was kicked. She played her first touch around the onrushing goalkeeper for her sixth goal of the season.

The Eagles (8-3-1, 2-0 Freedom) return to action for their fourth home game of the year on Wednesday when they host Manhattanville College in a rematch of the 2009 Championship match.