November marks the end of a rewarding season for all of Eastern’s fall sports. In the end, Eastern had claimed two more PAC Championships, and each of its teams had reason to be proud. Here is a summary of how they performed.
Women’s Soccer
Women’s soccer was first to fall out of the PAC playoffs. With a 2-1 win, Wesley conquered Eastern in the semifinals.
Senior Stephanie Frank scored Eastern’s first and only goal of the game. It was Frank’s 51st career goal at Eastern, putting her in a tie for Eastern’s all-time career points list. With their loss, the women’s soccer team finished with a 13-6-1 record for the season.
Men’s Soccer
Men’s soccer got off to a hot start by winning their PAC quarterfinal game against Immaculata 9-0.
In their semifinal game against Alvernia they failed to score a goal in regulation time, but they were they able to hold Alvernia scoreless as well. Two intense periods of overtime were followed by a penalty shootout.
After seven shots from each team, the score was tied at 5-5. First-year Jason Monte missed on his penalty kick, and Alvernia’s Moss Grande knocked home the winning shot, knocking Eastern out of the PAC playoffs.
Field Hockey
With only one PAC loss, Eastern’s field hockey team entered the playoffs with confidence. The Eagles were victorious in their semifinal game with Wesley, winning by a score of 5-2.
Three days later, the field hockey team brought home the PAC Championship by defeating Alvernia 2-0. Senior Christy Miller scored both of Eastern’s goals, winning her the game MVP honors.
The field hockey team was picked to finish fifth in the PAC according to the preseason coaches’ poll, but they beat the odds with their PAC championship win which sent them to the NCAA tournament. In their first round game of the tournament, Eastern fell to William Smith by a final score of 4-1. William Smith jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first half, and Eastern rallied in the second half but was only able to muster one goal.
Despite a disappointing ending, the field hockey team has much to be proud of in a season where they challenged several highly-ranked out-of-conference teams including Division II schools. The field hockey team finished their season with a final record of 18-4.
Volleyball
For their tenth consecutive season, women’s volleyball captured the PAC Championship. In the PAC tournament, Eastern defeated Cabrini and Neumann without dropping a single match.
With their two wins, Eastern advanced to the NCAA tournament where they played Richard Stockton in the first round. After five games, the Eagles triumphed over Richard Stockton by a score of 3-2.
The round of 32 was not as friendly for the Eagles, as they were defeated in three games by number-one-ranked Juniata.
The women’s volleyball season came to an end before they had wanted, but they were still able to add another impressive year to their team’s history.