Missed opportunities soured the start of the Eastern University Eagles' field hockey season as they dropped the season opener Thursday at home to Montclair State University, 2-1.
Down 2-0 at halftime, the Eagles earned nine penalty corners in the second half, but were only able to capitalize on the first of those attempts.
Eastern's lone goal came in the 40th minute when forward Sarah Webb inserted the ball on a penalty corner from the left side to forward Brittany Moyer. Moyer returned the ball to Webb, who had positioned herself by the left post. Webb quickly slammed the ball past Montclair's diving goalie, Megan Bosland.
For the remaining thirty minutes of game time, the Eagles fired off eight more shots, keeping the pressure on the Red Hawks, but Bosland was up to the challenge and she finished the game with nine saves. Eastern goalie Christin Suetterlein finished with five saves in her first career start in goal.
The Red Hawks cashed in two of their six penalty corners with goals in the 25th and 28th minute. Jennifer Tafro opened the scoring and Devin McNamara recorded the game-winner.
Coach Camrin Azzarano expressed optimism despite the loss.
"We are doing something new," she said. "We've made some adjustments. Quite frankly, I feel like our returners are having to go through more of a transition than our incoming girls."
