CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Coming into the season, Eastern University Field Hockey Coach
Camrin Azzarano preached to her team the importance of every conference game. The Eagles (6-1, 1-0) came into today's MAC Freedom opener at DeSales having won five straight and receiving votes in the national poll. With all that going for them, the Eagles still needed a gutty performance to claim a 3-1 road win in the league.
The host Bulldogs (1-6, 0-1) were playing in front of a homecoming crowd on their new turf field. The new turf played very much like a grass field and, according to the Eastern coaching staff, took some getting used to.
Jess Kinzler started the scoring action for the Eagles in the 23rd minute. The junior winger earned the circle and centered a ball for
Alison Hoag. Hoag knocked in the cross for her second tally of the season.
Azzarano noted the play of Kinzler in initiating the offense for the game. " [She is] electric in her generation of offense. She is game by game proving her athleticism, speed, and desire to help her team score."
Despite an 8-2 advantage in shots and a 9-3 edge in penalty corners, the Eagles were not able to stretch their lead in the first half.
The intermission came at the right time for the Eagles. The Eastern staff made adjustments and almost immediately they paid off. The Bulldogs fought off one penalty corner with a defensive save of a
Megan Bolton shot, but only momments later
Gina Miller tapped in a pass from
Lauren Gay to give the Eagles a two goal edge.
The Eagles went up three when
Hayley Williams put away a loose ball in the 47th minute. The Bulldogs fought until the final minute and picked up a late goal on the penalty corner to reduce the goal differential back to two goals. In 2014, the Eagles played seven one goal games in the MAC Freedom.
After the match, Azzarano cited how peased she was with her team coming together in a tough environement to claim the win.
Nicole Berger made four saves in goal to pick up her sixth straight win. The Eagles are at Elizabethtown College on Tuesday.
