Eagles soar into season with victories

Women’s Soccer

The Lady Eagles experienced a disappointing week, finishing with a record of one win and three losses. The team started its season at York College with a strong performance but fell short at the end, losing 4-2. Senior forward Jill DiRenzo scored both goals. 

The Lady Eagles were back on the field a few days later, this time with the home crowd behind them, but couldn’t hold off non-conference opponent Swarthmore. DiRenzo led the offensive charge again as she picked up the only goal in the 2-1 loss. Swarthmore used two second-half goals to take the game.

The loss was the first time the Lady Eagles lost on their home turf since losing to Messiah College in overtime in 2007.

Volleyball

The Lady Eagles enjoyed a stellar week on the court.  They started their season off with a bang with a win over Susquehanna.

At the Juniata Invitational on Sept. 4, the team dominated against Ithaca College. Unfortunately, Eastern fell to #2 Juniata, but the team regained its winning form against Dickenson and Hiram the next day.

The following week, the team traveled across the street to defeat rival Cabrini. Sophomore All-American Courtney Reinhold finished with a match-high 20 kills. Maria Horning, also a sophomore All-American, finished with 52 assists against the Cavaliers.

The Lady Eagles are currently ranked 24th in the country.

Women’s Tennis

The Lady Eagles finished the week with one win and two losses. Senior Hannah Tobin, first-year Jennifer Wright and sophomores Allison Verdic, and Amanda Prescott all picked up singles wins against Rosemont College. Eastern has three straight home matches this week and look to take an early jump on MAC competition.

Field Hockey

The Lady Eagles opened up their season with a bang. The team defeated Montclair State University in a 3-2 victory, with goals from senior Kim Campbell and sophomores Christin Haas and Yvonne Herbster.

Following a 2-3 loss to Gwynedd-Mercy, the Lady Eagles recorded their first shutout of the season at Franklin and Marshall College on Sept. 5, winning 1-0 with a goal from senior All-American Lindsay Moyer. Junior goalie Laura Ressler recorded six saves in the game.

Eastern fell to #4 Messiah 1-5 later in the week. Moyer was the only Eagle to score in the game. The team bounced back on Saturday, defeating Swarthmore 3-1. Senior Elya Troup, Herbster and Campbell scored in the non-conference victory.

Men’s Soccer

The Eagles started the season with an offensive explosion, scoring eight goals against Penn State Brandywine. They fell to Scranton on Sept. 4 at the F&M Tournament, losing in overtime, 2-3. Senior Terry Fry and sophomore Ben Faro each finished with a goal in the losing effort.

The next day, the Eagles got back on track with a 2-1 win over Roberts Wesleyan. Junior Alex Schweitzer and sophomore Drew Bixler each tallied goals in the win.

The team’s latest win came against Rowan, 2-1, with goals by sophomore Drew Bixler and junior Kyle Hurst.

Cross Country

In the Delaware Valley College Invitational, the Women’s Cross Country team finished 11th out of 15, while the men finished last. 

Sophomore Whitney Kerner finished with a team-best time of 29:01.4 while junior Dean Chia led the pack for the men at 33:38.