ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Nicole Berger recorded her second straight shutout as Eastern University Field Hockey blanked the visiting Wilkes University Colonels (3-5, 0-1 MAC Freedom), 5-0, in the MAC Freedom Opener for both teams. Ali Balmer had a two goals and an assist to pace the Eastern attack.

The Eagles found two goals in the opening 16 minutes. Balmer scored the first on a redirection of a Gina Miller smash from the top of the circle. The play was one the Eagles have been working in practice to perfect and the execution on both the serve and the shot were flawless. Four minutes later, the combination worked again. Balmer redirected yet another Miller smash to double the Eastern lead.

With their back row standing tall in the heat, the Eagles continued to press  through the opening half. Eastern finished with a 6-1 edge in shots and a 3-1 edge in penalty corners in the first half.

The third corner came in the 33rd minute, and again, the Eagles executed perfectly. Maya Wales played the insert into Miller, who pushed a pass to Alison Hoag. Hoag drew the pressure from the Wilkes defenders before pushing a pass back to the top of the circle. Miller met the ball there and blasted home her second goal of the year.

Berger had a relatively quiet first half behind Moriah Green, Alexis Gooch, and Ali Dickinson, but the senior goalkeeper made the only save she needed to make and kept the ball out of her circle with strong plays throughout.

Balmer set up the fourth Eastern tally with a strong serve from the right side. The Wilkes goalie was able to kick the ball out, but only as far as Hoag at the top of the circle. The junior midfielder played the ball wide of the left post where Maya Wales met it and flicked a reverse stick effort under the goalie for her fourth goal of the fall.

Shannon Jugler closed out the scoring on a brilliant penalty corner in the final minute of play. Howard ripped the insert into Balmer who played a give and go with Miller before pushing a pass toward the left upright. Jugler met the pass in stride and pushed home her first career goal.

Berger finished the match with five saves and Macey Talhelm stopped another shot behind her keeper as the Eagles completed their second shutout in a row.

"Gina Miller continues to be the rock of our midfield." Head Coach Camrin Azzarano said after the game. "We have been focusing on our passing game through the midfield, and today we got to enjoy the fruit of their efforts with our best passing game of the year. We are learning to make better decisions and be more accurate with how and when we move the ball"

The win puts the Eagles (3-5, 1-0 MAC Freedom) off to a good start as they work to compete for a spot in the MAC Freedom Tournament. The Eagles will be on the road for a non-league game against Elizabethtown and a critical conference match at DeSales before returning home on October 4th.