ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Field Hockey rallied from an early deficit to earn a 4-1 home win over the Mighty Macs of Immaculata University. Four different players scored in the win.
Eastern had several chances early, but the Mighty Macs (0-1) broke through in the seventh minute. Abby Apagito made three consecutive saves on shots in close, but Gianna Gatto slapped home a rebound to give her team an early edge.
After the goal, the Eagles had a decided advantage in possession and territory. The Eagles thought that had equalized on a Lindsey Estep smash on a penalty corner, but the goal was disallowed when it was ruled that the ball had not fully left the circle. Eastern (1-1) had an 8-0 edge in penalty corners through the opening frame, but did not convert until Emma Shauger guided in a pass from
Maisie Dorwart in the 25th minute.
Thought the Eagles had a 16-0 edge in corners and a 14-4 edge in shots, the game went to halftime level at 1-1.
Neither team had much action in front of the goal in for the first half of the third period, but the Eagles grabbed the lead on a beautiful goal in transition.
Hailey Ferry got the ball in the middle on a 3-on-1 break away. The junior forward beat the final defender and lifted a pass to the right of the onrushing Immaculata goalie.
JoEl Groff was in the right spot, and the first-year forward tucked home a shot from close range for the lead.
Jenna Lapp doubled the Eastern lead late in the quarter on a restart from outside the circle. She split a pair of defenders on the dribble and fired a shot through traffic for a 3-1 lead.
The Eastern defense kept the Immaculata attack away from goal for the remainder of the match. The Mighty Macs had only a few forays into the circle, and
Harper Sellers,
Emma Kircher, and
Grace Wise were solid behind a steady press from the forwards and the midfield. Immaculata did not register a shot or a corner in the final 53 minutes of action.
The Eagles finished the game
Morgan Ruhl tucked away a Kircher pass on the Eagles' 24th and final penalty corner for the final margin.
"The weather and home atmosphere was perfect for a great second game of the season," Head Coach
Camrin Azzarano said. "We had some disorganization on defense which led to a good finish by them on a scrum, but we showed good strength after that. Our team again showed attentive response to our coaching points at the breaks, and we worked our way in to a position of creating strong offensive attacks. Their defensive corner proved tough to beat, but I was pleased that we were able to generate so many. Ultimately, we found a more connected game and were able to break with four different goal scorers. It was a good way to head into a new week.
Eastern is back in action at Muhlenburg on Wednesday.
