IMMACULATA, Pa. – Eastern University Field Hockey rallied from a. Two-goal deficit to earn a 3-2 season-opening road win over the Immaculate University Mighty Macs.
Emerson Shauger converted a penalty stroke with just over two minutes to play to complete the comeback and lift the Eagles to the win.
The finish of the game stood in stark contrast to the open. The Eagles started the 2022 campaign giving up two goals in the opening quarter. The Mighty Macs opened the scoring in the first minute.
"We made some mistakes early and they put them away," Head Coach
Abbey Kemble said after the game. "Our effort was there, and we definitely have some things we will work on tomorrow, but we made some adjustments to our press, and the team showed great fight to come back and win. I am very proud of our effort throughout."
The host Mighty Macs (0-1) scored their second goal off a turnover deep in the Eastern end with only seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Down two goals, the Eagles knew the challenge ahead and rose to meet it.
After out-shooting the Mighty Macs 5-2 in the second quarter, the Eagles finally got on the board in the early minutes of the third. The Eagles earned their second penalty corner of the half and
Morgan Unruh redirected a drive from
Kara Frantz to cut the Immaculate lead in half.
The Eagles had three more penalty corners in the third, but they still trailed by a goal at the start of the fourth.
Ellie Pruitt drove home the game-tying goal late in the 52nd minute. The tally came after a pair of restarts near the edge of the circle. On the second one,
Lily White earned the circle with a hard dribble and slipped a pass into Pruitt's path. The junior midfielder struck the pass into the lower left corner to tie the game.
The Eagles continued to press and had more possession and field position. With the ball in the Immaculata end, the Eagles were able to force quick turnovers and regain possession in dangerous spaces. That edge paid off in the 58th minute when
Morgan Ruhl picked off a clearing attempt and drove toward goal. The senior earned the circle and seemed to have space to get a shot off when she was undercut by a defender. Because it denied a goal-scoring chance, the Eagles were awarded a penalty stroke.
Shauger drove the shot into the upper left and was instantly enveloped in a celebration.
The Eagles ground out the final two minutes to earn their first victory of the year. The win is the first as a head coach for Kemble.
Eastern (1-0) had a 15-8 edge in shots and a 9-5 advantage in penalty corners.
Abby Agapito earned the win in goal.
The Eagles will host Haverford College on Saturday at 11:00 am.
