ST. DAVIDS, Pa.- For the first forty minutes of their season opening game against No. 12 Montclair State, nearly everything went right for Eastern University Field Hockey. The Eagles jumped to a 2-1 halftime lead and added another goal 41 seconds into the second half. That lead, however, would not be enough. The visiting Redhawks scored three straight goals to earn a 4-3 win and stave off the upset attempt.

"We opened with a bang," Head Coach Camrin Azzarano said of her teams quick start. "We were very aggressive on the attack right out of the gate. I was very pleased with our ability to penetrate their midfield and gain corners."

The Eagles took advantage of one of those corners in the ninth minute of the match.  Jess Kinzler took a ball at the top of the circle and earned space to her right before firing a low shot to the far post for her first of two goals.

When Redhawks answered with a rebound goal from sophomore standout Kaitlyn Struss in the 25th minute, the Eagles continued to press the action. Kinzler picked up her second in the 28th minute on a goal that looked very much like her first tally.

Down 2-1, the Redhawks pressed forward for the remainder of the half. Eastern goalie Nicole Berger made five saves in the opening frame to help the Eagles to hold onto the lead into the intermission.

Only seconds into the second half, Danielle Frasca tipped in a Shannon Keliher shot to put the Eagles up 3-1.

"At this point," Azzarano noted," we knew that we would need all the steam we could muster to close this one out. Unfortunately, we ran out of gas and we overcommitted in some areas where we were unable to recover. I was very pleased with our fight and competitive spirit against a very good opponent."

The Eagles (0-1) return to action at Stockton University on Saturday.