ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – Eastern University Field Hockey fell 2-1 to the visiting Misericordia University Cougars in the MAC Freedom Semifinals. Lindsay Hischak had a goal and an assist in the game to send the third-seeded Cougars to Saturday's MAC Freedom Championship.

After the Eagles had several good chances in the first couple minutes, Misericordia (9-11, 5-2 MAC Freedom) took a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute. Hischak carried the ball out of the midfield and earned the circle on the right side of the field. She fired a hard pass across the mouth of the goal. Misericordia's Jennifer O'Neill took a touch to settle the ball and pushed a short shot past a diving Nicole Berger.

Eastern pulled even on a penalty corner goal in the 11th minute. Gina Miller played the insert to Megan Bolton. Bolton's shot to the far post slipped through traffic and deflected into the top corner of the goal. Bolton, a central defender, finishes her Eastern career with 39 goals, 18 assists, and 27 defensive saves.

Eastern (13-5, 6-1 MAC Freedom) continued to put pressure on the Misericordia goal. In the 21st minute, after a flurry of shots and penalty corners, the officials awarded a penalty stroke for a deliberate handle in front of the goal cage. Bolton's stroke whistled just wide of the left post. Seconds later, Hischak escaped the back line and carried the ball into the Eastern circle. She finished her solo effort with a powerful shot past a sprawling Berger. Berger put a blocker on the nine-yard shot, but was unable to keep it out of the goal.

"Misericordia cut hard and fast to the ball today," Head Coach Camrin Azzarano said. "Hischak showed why she could be the Offensive Player of the Year for the conference. [She is] A very skilled and well-rounded player. We got caught watching her rather than defending her and she made a couple great plays."

For the first half, the Eagles had an 11-6 edge in shots and a 10-2 edge in penalty corners, but the Cougars had a 2-1 advantage in the only statistic that really mattered.

The Eagles carried much of the action for the second half, but they were unable to slip a ball past Misericordia goalie Angela Pasquini and the Cougar defense. Pasquini finished with 10 saves in the contest.

The Eagles had a great chance to draw even in the 61st minute. Danielle Frasca beat Pasquini with a shot on a penalty corner, but Samantha Partington slipped behind her goalie and cleared the shot off the line.

For the match, the Eagles had a 17-8 edge in shots and a 16-8 edge in penalty corners. Today's loss was the first post-season loss for the Eagles since joining the Freedom Conference in 2008. The Eagles won the league in the first five seasons and then missed the tournament the last two seasons.

Azzarano concluded her thoughts by saying, "We accomplished so much this year. Big wins, national recognition, regional recognition, and making it back to our conference playoffs. With the right attitude and teamwork, small teams can be mighty. I am so proud of the team. The seniors have been invaluable examples for their teammates. We would not have accomplished as much if it wasn't for their leadership."