Two days ago, Katie Ruth bought a new pair of shoes. One of those shoes made a big difference late in today's game as the junior wide back served a long ball from the right side that slipped just inside the far post for a 2-1 win at Cabrini College.

Though they never trailed, the 22nd ranked Eagles (5-1)never really put things together against a Cavalier side that showed admirable patience in defending. Throughout the opening 45 minutes, the Cabrini (5-1) waited for opportunities to take the ball and made decisive attempts to counter. The Eagles survived a pair of scares on these situations as Annmarie Kolla and Dana Nardello hit shots in the first half that went just wide. 

The Eagles found great energy and attacking momentum after the break, but each movement forward seemed to be just a couple inches short. In the 76th minute those couple Inches came together as Carly took a ball on the left side and looked down the line at Amy Thomas who was running down the line to clear space. She then slotted a floating ball to Alli in a central seam. The younger twin flipped a high shot to the back corner for her second goal of the year. It is the first time the twins have combined on a goal while wearing an Eastern uniform.

That lead, however, was short lived, as slightly more than a minute later, Cabrini stole a ball in the midfield and found a space for service on their right side. Cabrini midfielder Sammy Thompson cracked a driven serve across the face that Morgan Hudson headed home to tie the game. 

After the equalizer, the Eagles again resumed comtrol of the play, but a pair of corner kicks went unfinished and the score remained level until Ruth broke the draw with her long strike.

"Katie serves a great ball for us," Head Coach Dan Mouw said, "we want her hitting that bending ball to the back post, but I think she would be the first to admit that she was looking to hit a runner on the back post. She was very reluctant to get the new shoes because she was used to and liked her old ones. That might explain the mis-hit. We call it a shross, and sometimes it works."

"This team understands how to work very hard for each other," Mouw continued, "and I think we are beginning to understand how to get a result even when we don't have our best day. That's going to be an important thing as we move through the season."

The Eagles held a 13-6 edge in shots and had eight corners to the Cavaliers one, but the game was hardly a stylistic masterpiece. The Eagles will have the weekend off before ending their stretch of six straight road games with a 7:00 pm game at Swarthmore.