The stage was set for Eastern’s women’s soccer team to win against Manhattanville on November 3. At the end of the first half, it seemed certain that the Eagles would win, with the scoreboard reading 2-0 in Eastern’s favor.
The visiting Valiants, however, had other plans and took the game into overtime. It eventually came down to penalty kicks, and Manhattanville went home with the victory. The Valiants then went on to win the MAC tournament.
“We came out ready to play as a team and showed that by scoring in the first few minutes,” sophomore Kelsey Doutrich said in an email. “I think we dominated play for most of the game, which is why we went up 2-0, but after that we relaxed a little, thinking we beat them emotionally, but Manhattanville came back stronger. It is unfortunate but it gives us all the more reason to strive to be better for next season.”
Doutrich, who leads the Freedom conference in points per game (2.71) and goals per game (1.29), was the first scorer of the day. Junior Tess Beckwith, who is fifth in the conference in shots per game (4.57), found the back of the net later in the first half.
“Wednesday’s game against Manhattanville did not end with the result we had anticipated,” junior Kristine Zeiset said in an email. “We played well throughout the game, but were unable to maintain the lead to earn the victory. The best that we can do with the end of this season is learn from the past but keep moving forward in order to meet our goals for next season.”
Junior Carly Inch agrees with Zeiset. “In looking toward next season now, there are definitely things we need to work on, but I think a lot of us have high hopes for next year,” she said in an email.
“The season in general went well,” Doutrich said. “It obviously would have been better if we went further, but we had a winning record, and I think we are really close as a team and as friends.”
Doutrich is correct about her team’s closeness. In the Freedom Conference, the Eagles lead in shots per game (22), points per game (10.43), goals per game (3.71) and assists per game (3).
The team also gathered many Freedom conference award. Doutrich, Zeiset, senior Amy Achey and junior Katie Ruth earned spots in the All-Conference first team, while Beckwith, junior Allison Inch and sophomore Alysia Goodman took second team placements.
Additionally, Zeiset became the second Eastern athlete to earn a spot in the CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-District team, earning a place on the second team.
“We fully expect to be in contention for the MAC Championship next season, but we realize that we must continue to build and grow in order to achieve this goal,” Zeiset said.