ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - After a disappointing result at Hood, Eastern Women's Soccer bounced back on Wednesday afternoon, recording its first MAC Commonwealth victory with a 1-0 triumph over Alvernia. It was the Eagles' fifth win in their past six matches and their fifth win at Olson Field this season.
"Winning conference games is difficult, so I'm extremely pleased that we came away with the result," Eastern Head Coach AJ Stueck said. "We are undefeated at home and hopefully can continue to protect our field."
Eastern controlled play throughout the match, dominating both possession and field position. Offensively, the Eagles peppered the Alvernia net with shots, placing 10 on frame and finishing with 17 overall. Additionally, the Eagles' defense kept the Golden Wolves' attack in check, holding Alvernia to just four total shots in the contest.
Eastern had a plethora of tremendous scoring chances in the first half, which included six corner kicks and a pair of advantageous restarts. However, the Eagles were unable to put one past Alvernia goalkeeper Brynn Bock, who made five saves, including a pair of chances from Lindsay Kline and Gabi Hollinger late in the first half.
The Eagles kept pressing their attack early in the second half, and another strong restart led to the match's lone tally in the 59th minute. Off a brilliant free kick from Kline, the ball bounced around in front of the Alvernia net before it was eventually corralled by Lauryn Laning, who fired a shot into the bottom left corner of the net to give the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish. It was Laning's first collegiate goal, which came after she collected her first career assist at Hood this past Saturday.
Armed with the advantage, Eastern hunkered down defensively, allowing just two more Alvernia shots the rest of the way, keeping their unbeaten home record intact, and securing their third shutout of the season. Emily Honig recorded a pair of saves in her third collegiate victory.
"Our defense really showed up today, not only in getting the shutout, but getting an outstanding goal from Lauryn Laning as well," Stueck said. "Lauryn worked extremely hard this summer and deserves this moment."
Eastern Women's Soccer will be back at Olson Field on Saturday afternoon for a Homecoming matchup with Stevenson. Kickoff is set for 12:00 noon.
"The focus will be to continue to get better each day, and keep the positivity and momentum going as we head into a huge game this weekend," Stueck concluded.
