ST. DAVIDS, Pa.- An undermanned Eastern University Women's Lacrosse squad used balanced scoring and solid defense to top King's College 15-8 and advance this Saturday's Freedom Conference Championship game. Courtney Reinhold led five Eastern goal-scorers with four goals and an assist.

The opening seconds of the match did not go well for the Eagles as Emily Foley controlled the opening draw for the visiting Monarchs and went straight to goal for a 1-0 lead only 17 seconds into the contest. Allie Fultz, however, answered with her first of three on the day two minutes later. 

Seconds later, King's retook the lead but Fultz again answered to spark a 6-1 Eastern run. That spurt put the Eagles in command of the game with an 8-3 lead with less than nine minutes to play in the first half.

"We had great enthusiasm today," Head Coach Camrin Azzarano said of her team, "We were down a couple key players, but our energy and drive came through and we put together a really strong opening period. [Allie] Fultz and [Courtney] Reinhold were influential at both ends today. Our two seniors in the field really led the way."

The Eagles led 9-4 in the waning seconds of the first half, but the Monarchs grabbed some momentum on a transition goal in the closing seconds. Up 9-5 on the scoreboard, the Eagles dominated almost all the statistics of the first half except draw controls. The Monarchs, led by Foley's seven first-half controls, had a 10-5 edge in the circle. Eastern reversed that trend with 6-of-10 draws after the intermission.

Coach Azzarano's squad scored the first two goals of the second half to grab the momentum back.

The upstart Monarchs, in their first post-season action as a program, refused to go quietly, and they carved into the Eastern lead with three goals in the middle of the period to cut the Eastern lead to 12-8.

Lindsay Corbitt, on in relief for Kristy Getsay, made two of her five second half-stops with the Eagles playing down a player from a yellow card to keep King's from getting any closer. With the lead, the Eagles were able to pull the Monarch defense away from goal, burn time off the clock, and score the final three goals of the match for the 15-8 final.

Fultz and Jocelyn Paul each had three goals and an assist and Shannon Wilcox added three. Kendall Rood scored a pair. Chelsea Manes had three goals and an assist and Foley had two tallies to lead King's (10-8).

The Eagles will play the winner of tonight's FDU-Florham vs. Manhattanville game. If the top-seeded Devils prevail Eastern will travel to Madison N.J. for the Freedom Championship game.