ST. DAVIDS, Pa.— Eastern University Field Hockey scored first, but the visiting Widener University Pride scored a pair of goals only seconds apart in the second quarter and held on for a critical win int he MAC Commonwealth standings.
Alyssa Caldini and
Julia Potter each scored goals for the Eagles.
Coming into the match, the two sides sat level in the league standings and knew that the winner would have an important tie-breaker to go with the win. Though the Pride had much of the possession in the first quarter, the Eastern defense kept their guests on the perimeter and allowed just a single shot on frame. The offense, with
Ryhanna Ridgeway and
CJ Summa as targets looked dangerous in transition.
Late in the quarter, the Eagles (9-6, 2-3) earned their only penalty corner of the frame. Potter served it to the top of the circle, and Summa ripped a shot toward the left post. Caldini mat the shot and redirected into the upper corner reaches of the goal cage for her fourth goal of the season.
The 1-0 lead held until the Pride (6-7, 3-2) earned their first penalty corner of the match in the 24th minute. The Pride fed the top of the circle and returned a pass back to the insert player. Her shot slid home despite a valiant diving attempt by
Lydia Ehst on the goal line. With the Eagles still recovering, the Pride pounced for a second with a pass of the left side and a high shot only seconds later. Widener held a 5-to-0 edge in shots in the second quarter, but the two teams each had just a single penalty corner through 30 minutes.
Early in the second half, Widener earned back-to-back penalty corners and capitalized on the second. That two-goal edge lasted for only four minutes. On their second penalty corner of the match, Potter served the insert to Summa who slid the ball back to Potter at the post. A Widener defender blocked Potter's first effort, but junior won the race to the rebound and lifted a shot into the net to close the gap to a single goal.
After the two teams traded chances to close out the third quarter. Both teams had periods of extended pressure in the fourth. Widner goalie Emma Korenthal made three stops early in the period and
Angelina Catania made four saves, including a pair of brilliant stops to keep hope alive. While the Eagles pushed forward late, they were unable to find a shot at goal in the final nine minutes.
The Eagles will travel to Hood College and can keep their post-season hopes alive with a win in Frederick. The top five teams in the MAC Commonwealth qualify for the tournament.
