ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - Senior
Mia Zucker notched a pair of goals two minutes apart early in the second half, and first-year
Corrine Myers scored her seventh goal of the season in the 53rd minute to lift Eastern Women's Soccer to a 3-0 win over the Hood College Blazers on Senior Day. With the win, the Eagles clinched a spot in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament for the fourth consecutive year.
The Eagles dominated both possession and field position throughout the afternoon, outshooting the Blazers 27-1, which included a 15-1 margin in shots on target. The Eagles also took 12 corners to Hood's four. Senior goalkeeper
Faith Leake only had to make one save for her third consecutive shutout, her seventh shutout of the season and the 19th of her illustrious career.
Despite Eastern's dominance, the first half ended in a 0-0 draw, but the Eagles had plenty of chances. Their first best chance came in the 20th minute, when senior midfielder
Erin Speak looked to poke one past Hood goalkeeper Marlie DeRenzis, but offsides was called, negating the goal. Zucker had back-to-back shots in the 35th and 36th minutes that sailed just wide left, and Myers had a great chance in the 40th minute that was stopped by DeRenzis.
The Eagles would go on to make the most of their chances in the second half. Right after the second half kickoff, a Hood defender slipped, giving Zucker a free run to the net. The Jenkintown native shot the ball over DeRenzis and into the back of the net, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Zucker went on to score just over two minutes later. Off a perfect corner kick from
Heather Abzug, Zucker corralled the loose ball and slipped it past DeRenzis for her second goal of the day and the 16th goal of her collegiate career.
Myers, who has been red hot since conference play began, put the match away after being fouled hard in the box in the 53rd minute. The first-year forward buried her second penalty shot and her third goal of the week to put the Eagles ahead 3-0. Myers has scored 14 points in conference matches this year with six goals and two assists.
Armed with a three-goal advantage, the Eagles defended well the rest of the way, allowing just two shots by Hood, both of which were not high quality chances. All eight seniors for the Eagles played significant minutes. Speak finished with two shots, while
Paige Robinson played 34 solid minutes on the backline.
Billinda Leisner, who is graduating a year early, finished with five shots.
Tia Argento,
Zoe Roidl, and
Ella Sedor played excellent defense all afternoon long, clearing balls away from danger and limiting Hood's time in their offensive zone.
Eastern (8-6-2, 4-1-1) will play its final two regular season games on the road next week. They travel down the Blue Route to Chester on Wednesday for a 7:00 pm matchup with Widener.
