The Waltonian

Eastern Athletics is a huge department. With over 200 competitions to track, record, write on, and stat per school year, there is so much to cover, stream, and report on, and so little time to do it. This is why we must spotlight the work done by Eastern Athletic Communications. This three man unit has been a consistently well oiled and run machine since well before we got here. And no, I’m not saying that because I work for them, but seeing what they do up close and personal for the past four years definitely makes me more appreciative of what they do.

The department is headed by Director of Athletic Communications and Associate Athletic Director Dan Mouw. He has incredible expertise in numerous areas, including knowledge of multiple sports, play-by-play announcing, NCAA statistics, photography and livestream video – all of which are crucial for athletics being able to run on the level it does. He initially joined Eastern as the head coach of Women’s Soccer in 2002, where he served until 2016, before taking on the role of Sports Information Director in 2005. In this role, he led the efforts that created goeasterneagles.com, two renovations of the site, and the creation of EagleVision, which broadcasts all our athletic events, including games, the Hall of Honor and the Nesties. In addition to training me and overseeing my growth as a public address announcer, Mouw has trained several other student workers and interns in other in-game jobs, such as camera work, production and more. His goal is to create a team of student workers and interns to tell the story of Eastern Athletics.

Then there is Sean Douglas, who is in his fourth year as the Assistant Sports Information Director. His energetic voice, friendly demeanor towards both his coworkers and our athletes, and talent in play-by-play, statistical work, stories on our athletic website and social media posts make him a beloved figure at Eastern. He consistently receives compliments from random spectators, from parents of Eastern athletes to opposing school’s fans, for the work he does on our livestreams, as he brings life and excitement to each broadcast. Not to mention he’s the regular voice for performing the National Anthem before each game, where his angelic voice never ceases to impress everyone in attendance.

Assistant Sports Information Director Darryl Mackey also deserves a shoutout. A graduate from Eastern back in 2022, Mackey is mainly known for his photography skills, taking quality pictures for the athletics website and social media pages. He also helps with production on several livestreams, as well as recording NCAA Live Stats for soccer, basketball and volleyball. How do we know about Zubair Lee’s 30 point games at home or the stats from random volleyball games? You can thank this guy.

You can catch these three all over the place doing numerous tasks to aid our athletic department. Whether it’s traveling to other schools to take pictures and/or help with gameday at road games, doing interviews with coaches and players for social media or in the office preparing videos for games or events – these guys are on it.

They spend incredibly long hours preparing for game days as well, transporting equipment from the office in the building of the gym to the location of each game, whether it’s just down the hall at The Nest or across campus at the softball field, hours before each game starts. They set up all the technical equipment for getting the livestream and stats running and online, ensure mother nature doesn’t damage anything and give joyful and exciting calls over the livestream to aid the experience of those watching Eastern Athletics from afar.

To say the least, no one would be able to see nor appreciate the work of Eastern Athletics without the help of these three, as the work they do for our institution is invaluable. To Dan, Sean, and Darryl – thank you for everything you do.

Only a year and a half ago, Eastern University announced they were adding Women’s Flag Football. Now, they are set to play a playoff game in their first ever season. If you haven’t been watching this team, I regret to inform you that you are missing out.

After dropping their first two games, the Eagles went on to win 13 of their next 14 in dominating fashion. They recorded ten shutouts, averaged 25 points per game, and only gave up less than three points per game in that stretch.

Anyone who watches or knows football, from experts analysts to casual fans, knows the best offenses have both a strong passing game and running game. This high flying offense has both. On the ground, first year Kyla Massenberg currently leads the charge, rushing for 469 yards and nine touchdowns this season. Junior Stephanie White has also been terrific, averaging over six yards per carry whilst scoring four touchdowns of her own.

In the passing game, freshman Kira Green has been phenomenal in her first season playing football, slinging the rock for over 1500 yards this season with a 63.5 completion percentage and 17 touchdown passes. She also can make plays with her legs when need be, rushing for over 175 yards and eight touchdowns.

Her targets in the receiving game have been excellent in generating separation. The leading receiver for the maroon and white is junior Damiyae Moyet, who has 617 receiving yards and eight touchdowns as a deep ball threat. She’s scored seven touchdowns in her past three games, including a 66 yarder against Neumann, and recently had her first 100 yard game on six catches against Centenary. Junior Jeriyah Johnson has also been terrific with over 400 yards and a trio of touchdowns, and Massenburg has four to go with over 300 yards.

As terrific as the offense is, the defense has been nothing short of lights out. In addition to the aforementioned stats, the secondary recorded 28 interceptions this year, with nine different players recording at least one. Graduate student Trinity Upton has 10 this year, four of which came in the 54-0 rout of Kean on senior day. White has three, and all three of them were returned for touchdowns, including a 66 yard pick-six against Centenary.

If some of those names sound familiar, it’s because they also played for Women’s Basketball. Nine of the players on the roster played women’s basketball this past winter, and Jaleel Taylor, who is an assistant coach for Women’s Basketball, is also an assistant coach for this team.

Unlike the rest of our team sports that compete in the MAC Commonwealth (apart from Esports), Flag Football plays in the Atlantic East. Like the MAC, the Atlantic East holds a playoff tournament where the teams with the top four conference records will clash in a single elimination playoff for the conference title. The conference tournament is scheduled to take place either on April 25 or 26 at Bishop O’Connell High School, the home venue of the top seeded Marymount.

Eastern finishes in second place in the Atlantic East with a 9-3 record in conference play. Two of those three losses came against Marymount, who has only allowed two points total in their non-scrimmage games this year. The Eagles lost 34-0 in their first matchup but kept things much more competitive in the second game. Though they lost 12-0, the Eagles forced a pair of turnovers and reached Marymount territory three times, while Green threw for over 100 yards.

The Eagles will play the third seeded Centenary to open the tournament. The winner of that game plays the winner of Marymount and the fourth seeded Immaculata.

Eastern Athletics has had tremendous success across numerous sports since its inception 100 years ago, especially during the 21st century. Field Hockey has an Elite Eight appearance, Men’s Soccer reached the Sweet Sixteen, and numerous other sports have made NCAA Tournament runs. Sadly, no Eastern team has won an NCAA one squad came very, very close.

Women’s volleyball has long been the best program in Eastern athletics. Twenty-two conference championships as part of four different conferences, missing the NCAA tournament only three times since 2007, and reaching the Sweet Sixteen a whopping six times in that stretch. In 2011 though, they broke a threshold no team in school history has done. Going 36-3, winning the MAC Freedom and winning 21 consecutive matches throughout October and November, the Eagles made it to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament.

Of course, none of the members of that team have played for Eastern in over a decade, but there’s one guy from that team who is still here: Head Coach Mark Birtwhistle.

The Eagle’s were led by a tremendous group of seniors that put together the best volleyball play in their lives. The offensive attack was led by Courtney Reinhold, a then-senior outside hitter who put up over 500 kills in each of her last three seasons. She’s the only player in program history to reach 2000 career kills, making her the all-time leader in a landslide. She averaged 4.5 kills per set in college, hit .336 for her career, and reached 1000 digs despite being an outside hitter.

There was also senior setter and current assistant coach Maria Horning, who was arguably the best setter in the nation that year. Her 1416 assists in 2011 are the third most for a single season in program history, and she would finish with over 5000 for her career.

The defense was anchored by junior libero Kelly Groff, who like Grace Casagrande today, hit the 500 dig milestone in each of her final three seasons. 2011 was her best year, seeing her hit nearly 600 digs, and she finished her career one shy of 2,000.

The season itself featured dominance of the highest caliber. Besides the aforementioned winning streak, the Eagles, who were then in the MAC Freedom, swept through conference play easily without losing a set, including the conference tournament. Thirty of their wins were 3-0 sweeps, and their only losses of the year each came to teams ranked inside the top five of the national polls. By winning the MAC Freedom, the Eagles won their fourth straight conference title and would go on to win seven more before the streak ended in 2019.

The Eagles were also selected to host one of the eight regional tournaments in the NCAA Tournament thanks to their dominance throughout the season. Hosting at Neumann University, they cruised past Penn State Altoona but nearly suffered a reverse sweep to an unranked Hiram squad. Down 13-12 in the fifth set, Reinhold performed clutch time heroics with a kill, a service ace, and another strong serve that led to their setter committing a violation to steal the win and survive.

The Eagles then defeated Juniata, who they had lost to in each of their first 17 meetings, on the back of Reinhold’s 26 kills, Horning’s 51 assists, and a 13 kill, 20 dig performance from sophomore outside hitter Kearby Benak. The third set saw the teams combine for a whopping 70 points, and despite the exhaustion, the team used their experience of fighting with their backs against the wall to pull away with the W. In the Elite Eight in St. Louis, they made quick work of St. Thomas despite a slow start, sweeping them to advance to the Final Four for the first time in program history.

The incredible run ended against the #5 Wittenberg University Tigers. In the 3-0 defeat, the Eagles attack was limited to a .148 hitting percentage while the Tigers hit .327. Reinhold had a dozen kills and a dozen digs, and Horning dished out 25 assists. However, the Tigers had five players with at least six kills, and their two setters, Meghan Vodopich and Hallie Donathan combined for 35 assists. Wittenberg, who upset the defending national champions and #1 ranked Calvin earlier in the tournament, would go on to win the National Championship that year in a sweep of Christopher Newport. The Eagles have not played Wittenberg since.

Since then, the Eagles have continued their legacy of success, capturing 10 more conference crowns and reaching at least the NCAA Sweet Sixteen four more times. However, they have never reached the National Semifinals since.

In honor of Eastern’s Centennial, let’s take a short gander on the history of Eastern University Athletics from the very first sport to today, as well as some noteworthy achievements that our programs and players have accomplished over the years.

If we’re being technical, the very first sport that we added was Turning Point, who competed iwn various competitions as early as the 1930’s. The feature on Turning Point earlier in this issue provides more information.

The earliest records we have show that the very first sport we added was Men’s Basketball in 1952, just as the school’s name changed to Eastern Baptist College. They went 6-2, mostly playing against Seminaries, including ourselves. Right as they separated from Eastern Baptist Seminary, which is what Eastern originally was before it founded the college, they played two games against said seminary.

Fun fact: Tony Campollo was a freshman playing on that year’s team.

Since then, the Eagles have added 24 more teams, as well as a Marching Band and an Esports program that competes in numerous video-game leagues.

The Eagles have played in numerous leagues over the years. Before 1993, Eastern was part of the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association), which is a league like the NCAA that has two divisions with a combined 92 Christian schools. Eastern then moved to the more popular NCAA in 1993 and joined the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC), which featured notable rivals such as Alvernia, Misericordia, and Cabrini. They then moved to the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) in 2008, and they spent 12 years in the Freedom, before moving to the Commonwealth in 2020 in a saga of changes brought on by the addition of York College of Pennsylvania.

Eastern has had numerous athletes achieve tremendous success, such as Andrea Collesidis Roos (‘02) of Women’s Basketball and Women’s Lacrosse. Dominating in both sports, she is the school’s all-time leader scorer in both sports. Not only that, she was the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history in women’s lacrosse, becoming the first player in Division III history to score 300 career goals in 2002.

The same goes for the teams themselves. Field Hockey made the NCAA Tournament in each of their first five years in the MAC, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2010. Men’s Soccer and Men’s Lacrosse both made the National Tournament numerous times in the 2010’s, with the former going as far as the Sweet Sixteen in 2018. Men’s Basketball has also made in twice this decade.

Eastern has added a whopping seven sports in the past six years. In 2019, men’s volleyball played in their first season of Division III competition and came out swinging by winning its first four games. Cheer and Dance were also added for the fall of 2021, appearing and performing routines at home football and basketball games, as well as competing in numerous tournaments.

That same fall saw Eastern announce the addition of football, which has been on an upward trajectory since they started playing NCAA competition in 2023. After their first season, which saw them win two games and keep several others to within one score, the Eagles took a big leap in 2024 with three more wins than in 2023, a winning record in conference play, eight All-Conference selections, and falling mere tiebreakers short of a bowl game appearance.

Finally, in year 100, Flag Football is set to begin competition in the Atlantic East. Their first home game is set to kick off on March 26 at 5:30 p.m.

Eastern has also announced the additions of men’s and women’s wrestling, which will begin competing in the 2026-27 academic year.

This was supposed to be the year where Eastern women’s volleyball made the leap from an early NCAA exit to a force to be reckoned with in Division III. Stevenson fell off and they brought everyone from last year back to make one last deep push.

Those hopes came to an end before the big dance even commenced.

The Eagles lost the conference championship on the road to Messiah on Nov. 16. It was the first time they hadn’t won the conference since 2019, and their first time not winning the Commonwealth since joining four years ago. It was topped off with them finding out they did not earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking it only the second time they didn’t since 2007.

On one hand, the Eagles had a resume that had some merit. They won three games against Tournament teams, including a now-ranked Wisconsin Eau-Claire, and played competitively in five others. They had five players be named to the All-MAC Commonwealth First Team compared to Messiah’s one. On top of that, the Commonwealth has had two teams earn NCAA tickets for the past three seasons, as Stevenson earned large bids each time.

Then comes the other issue: the Eagles still lost some critical games. They lost to an unranked Haverford squad back in September. While Trinity was a top 15 team in the country, the Eagles were up 2-1 with leads in both the fourth and fifth sets before losing. They lost to Cortland for the first time in school history, and both Messiah games featured sets that went beyond 25 points and didn’t go our way. While not an official rule, the theoretical threshold for at-large bids is 20+ wins and less than eight losses. Even with the conference title loss, if any of those aforementioned games went differently, we might be looking at an at-large bid.

The short question to ask is, ‘What went wrong?’ While a bunch of things happened this season there are two key factors The first thing many would point out is injuries. The Eagles lost their now three-time All-MAC Commonwealth First Team middle hitter Logan Martin to a leg injury in the first set against NYU, and she ended up missing the next three games. Martin led the Eagles in hitting percentage this season and was having the best season of her career before the injury. She would wind up missing the next three games because of it, including the pivotal regular season loss to Messiah. She returned for the conference championship game, but the injury kept her neutralized for the entire match and she only played in parts of three sets. They also lost sophomore outside hitter Emma Flores just three games into the season. In her small sample size, she collected 20 kills and hit .278. One can only speculate what else she could’ve done had she stayed healthy.

The second: Messiah. For as long as Eastern has been in the Commonwealth, Messiah has been in the middle of the pack, never truly being able to surpass Eastern and Stevenson in a very good conference. They have improved significantly over the past two seasons thanks to strong recruiting classes in each of the past two seasons. They have both of the previous two MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the Year winners in outside hitters Sara Hart and McKenzie Adams – both of whom came close to 300 kills this season and had double-digit kill performances in both games against Eastern. At the center of their talented core is senior Libero Caitlin Lielbredis. The championship MVP moved from outside hitter midway through last year and has excelled, earning Second Team All-MAC Commonwealth honors this season while finishing four digs shy of 600.

These things each played a role in the program’s setback this fall, and it marks the end of eight players’ collegiate careers. With only four of our nine starters eligible to return next year, Eastern Women’s volleyball will look very different come 2025.

As the fall season approaches its conclusion, we must prepare to officially turn the page to a new chapter in Eastern Athletics. Basketball and track and field are set to begin their 2024-25 seasons soon. Basketball kicks off during the first week of November, while track and field kicks off their season in December. As we head into these new seasons with these four squads, we’ll cover where each team is at and who’s ready to feature their talents this winter.

Men’s basketball is coming off their best season in program history. They matched their program record of 21 wins, won their first conference championship in program history, and won a game in the NCAA Tournament. It’s going to be a tough season to top, especially given the fact that we lost four of our top six scorers from that team. Despite this, the team was selected as the favorite to win the MAC Commonwealth in the coaches poll released two weeks ago.

The main reason why (besides Widener losing five of their top six scorers): is the team’s ever-flowing fountain of young talent. They’re headlined by junior forward Zubair Lee, who established himself as a top player in the conference on both ends of the floor. The reigning MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year led the conference in rebounds and free throws made last season and was also second in scoring and blocks.

The rest of the lineup is flushed with depth. Senior Davin Hernandez and graduate Arkese Claiborne both return for their final seasons. They were both instrumental in the playoffs and will look to provide sparks with their scoring and defensive prowess. Junior forward Olise Onyeka is set to play a major role this season in the front court after coming off the bench last season. There’s also junior guard Nick Mate, who hit threes at a 35% clip last season. Juniors Brian Jackson and Zayd Lee should also see some more playing time in the frontcourt, and sophomores DaRon Sherman and Dominic Saragumba, who each got reps as backup point guard last year, also return to the fold. Junior Drew Rodgers, sophomore Roland Majors, and junior A.J. Williams, who joins the main squad after spending his first two years in DV, round out the front court.

Joining them are four freshmen looking to make immediate impacts. We’ve already seen just what Nico Pulleri can do after he dropped 17 points against Eastern’s DV squad while playing for The Phelps School. Josh Harris comes in with incredible athletic ability and, like Sarigumba, is a major threat for a poster dunk. Connor Fleet and Mikhi Ward will both look to get minutes in the backcourt after strong high school careers.

“I think we have a lot of guys that, even though they didn’t play a ton of minutes last year, saw what it took to become confident,” said Head Coach Dan Pruessner. “Even though we lost four guys, there’s a lot of these dudes that were here last year and a lot of these guys play huge roles, whether it was in practice or whether it was on the floor during games. So they know what it takes to get it done and I’m pretty confident they’ll do it.”

They will be tested early this season. Their non-conference schedule features a mix of teams that they have recently lost to and/or made the NCAA Tournament last season. The season opener against Roanoke, a rematch with Rowan, and a clash with the national runner-up in Hampden, Sydney are just a few of these early trials the Eagles will have to face.

“Our non-conference schedule is one of the hardest in the country,” said Pruessner. “We play probably at least three or four teams that are going to be in the top 25, so we’re going to get tested right away. It really comes down to how we’re going to respond to those tests because we will fail some of those, and it’s just going to be important to see how those guys respond to that.”

Women’s basketball saw tremendous growth across the board last year. In her first season as head coach, Sarah Fowler took a five-win team, doubled their win total, and came two minutes shy of clinching a postseason berth. This year, she’ll aim to surpass those feets, but she’ll have to do so with essentially a brand new roster – five of our top six scorers from last season are not returning.

There are some players from last year’s squad still here, though. Leading the way is junior Jeriyah Johnson, who led the team in scoring for each of her first two years as the primary point guard. There’s also senior guard Trinity Upton who established herself as a quality sixth-man playmaker last season, ranking third on the team in assists despite playing less than 20 minutes a game. Two more seniors, forward Tyerra Jarvis and guard Kayla Worsely Wooten, who’s set to make a return after missing all of last season, add a strong veteran presence to the lineup. Juniors Maiah Madison, Stephanie White, and Hope Gaithier also return for the 2024-25 campaign.

Track and Field is also set to start its season in December, though no polls have been released yet, but there are some important things to talk about. They are headlined by senior distance runner Hailey Shreffler, who had a career year last spring, not to mention a strong cross-country season in the fall. Last spring saw her win the conference title in the 1500-meter run, earn an All-Metro Region honor, be ranked as a top 20 runner in the nation and earn a spot in the Division III National Championships in the 800-meter run.

Full schedules for fall sports can be found on goeasterneagles.com

Soccer is already a dangerous game. With all of the running, sliding, diving, jumping and collisions, there’s already enough dare in the world’s most popular sport. So why not then, take an already dangerous sport and up the ante with fire?

Yes. Fireball soccer is a real thing. Don’t believe me: look it up. It’s primarily played in various regions across Indonesia, with the ball being made of a coconut drenched in kerosene (because a real soccer ball will collapse to flames within seconds). Not only that, but the game is typically played barefoot, as if the game wasn’t dangerous enough. It plays like a traditional soccer match otherwise: throw-ins, heading, chesting and tackles are all allowed, and a referee controls play.

In Indonesia, this game is very much rooted within Islam tradition, as it serves as a part of welcoming Ramadan within some boarding schools amongst various parts of the nation (Topend Sports). Many students at these schools take part in this game. They would pray, fast and cleanse themselves with water before the game, with the goal of eliminating their fear of fire and increasing their confidence (Trans World Sport).

Strangely enough, the report done by Trans World Sports concluded that there were no major burns or injuries that required burn care. Whether that’s believable or not is left to interpretation, but I will say this: the videos I witnessed saw the players play with quick touches and cautious movements. They don’t keep their feet on top of the ball. They keep their touches short. They play a style of soccer that many a passionate fan of the non flame-laden version would be proud of. The incredible precision, skill and courage required to do this is one that only long time players can achieve.

Now, this sport isn’t exactly popular outside of the aforementioned regions, so what do other cultures think about the sport? While I can’t provide a full global census on this, I was able to ask some folks here at Eastern about whether they would partake in this game. Senior women’s soccer player Liz Leonard offered her thoughts:

“I fear I wouldn’t play Fireball soccer because I’d be too afraid to burn my legs.”

Another senior, Grace Nealy, wasn’t as hesitant however.

“I would definitely play fire soccer. I think it’s a cool concept. You would need some special fire shoes but then… yeah yolo.”

This is certainly no sport for the faint of heart, but for anyone who has the guts to give it a shot: go for it.

Sources: Trans World Sport, Topend Sports

Eastern has a lot of fun clubs and activities for students to participate in, but there is one they don’t have that would be huge for students to have: intramural sports. However, it hasn’t always been missing from campus life.

Just two years ago, intramural sports were in full swing at Eastern. A 3-on-3 basketball tournament was held in the fall (which my team won, side note), and the spring saw tons of fun games held across campus, such as dodgeball, kickball, and flag football. Dozens of people joined in on the fun, as they offered an incredibly fun activity for students who love sports yet don’t play for the school.

Now, their absence isn’t due to lack of effort on Eastern’s part. Far from it, actually. I recently talked to SGA member and Class of 2027 President Stephan Philemon, who informed me that there are active efforts in the works to restart intramural sports this school year.

“We have had some talks within Student Government to see what we can do, because we don’t know our limitations,” said Philemon when asked about what said efforts were. “Some talks we’re having include trying to get spaces off campus to play some of the sports basketball and pick up volleyball games running but we just don’t have the space on campus to do that so we’re looking for alternatives as a new process.”

Now, the events I previously mentioned were small gatherings and pick-up games, which are fun in their own rights. However, Philemon and the rest of SGA are planning something much, much bigger.

“We are trying to have this more as an official intramural process,” said Philemon. “So that includes having referees, officiators, announcers, all that great stuff. Even like trying to get an Instagram.”

Now, I’m not the greatest referee, but can certainly fill in as an announcer if needed. Just saying.

Regardless, this would be huge for campus life here at Eastern, and I, along with hundreds of fellow students, hope that this vision comes to life during this school year. Especially for the seniors, for whom this year would be the final chance for them to have something like this.m Yes, there are some obstacles that need to be overcome, such as finding space for these events and dealing with construction and parking, but I truly believe it will be worth it for the students. Campus life will thrive off of the dozens upon dozen of people signing up to play, myself included as I try to defend my basketball title. Most importantly, it will be an incredible escape from the stresses of academics and work, as people can simply sign up and play. No hustle, no difficulties… until they actually play, that is.

Eastern Softball has been REALLY good in 2024. Riding hot bats, incredible rallies and a pitching duo that can be compared to that of the Phillies, your Eagles are in the midst of what’s all but certain to be the most successful season in program history. Off to a 20-3 start at the time of this writing, the Eagle’s have jumped from barely making the playoffs in each of the past two seasons to being atop of the MAC Commonwealth standings midway through April.

Headlining this electric group is first year pitcher Danika Barthol, who is putting up numbers that will make even the best of hitters quiver. With a 9-1 record, she has only given up five earned runs all season, which is the least among qualified pitchers in the Commonwealth. She also leads the conference with 81 strikeouts. This dominance has led to four MAC Commonwealth Pitcher of the Week honors, as well as to her being the only pitcher in Region V to be on the watchlist for the National Fastpitch Softball Association’s (NFSA) Pitcher of the Year award.

“Danika is doing a wonderful job in the circle!” said sophomore outfielder Kellie O’Brien. “There’s no debate that her pitching is phenomenal and is a big part of [our] success, and the fact that she’s a freshman makes it even more impressive and exciting for the years to come.”

Barthol isn’t the only freshman performing well, as outfielder Ainsley O’Donnell has come out swinging .360 in her first year. On the upperclassmen side, junior utility player Jania Long has played well on both sides of the ball, slugging three home runs while boasting a 6-1 pitching record. Sophomore infielders Sydney Ostolaza and Alyssa Binczac, as well as junior first baseman Tori Hook, are each having career years at the plate, as they are all hitting above .345, with Ostalaza winning a MAC Commonwealth Player of the Week award as well.

This talent is what led the Eagles to be picked to finish second in the conference preseason coaches poll. Yet, somehow, they’ve managed to exceed those expectations. They began by going 6-2 during spring break, which is the best they’ve played in any spring break since 2011. Once they returned, the winning continued with convincing victories, including outscoring Widener 20-0 to begin a four game shutout streak in mid-March.

The true statements, however, came against the two teams predicted to finish atop of the conference. Going to York to face the defending conference champions, the Eagles came away with a crucial conference win after a complete game by Barthol. Though they lost the second game, their confidence continued to soar thanks to a pair of walk offs against Messiah.. In the second game, the Eagles came back from a 3-0 deficit in the bottom of the 7th with clutch baserunning, capped off by a walk off two run double by Hook.

I recently got the chance to speak to Hook about the team’s success, particularly in the Messiah victories, and she shared her excitement about the direction the team is taking.

“I feel, especially during the Messiah game, that we really came together to support each other, and I think that’s really helping us do better,” Hook said. “We’re all putting in the work. We have been grinding the whole entire year since the fall. We go into the cages in the off season at 8:00 at night and just hit and hit. We want to win, we really want to win.”

This season, thanks to the shrinkage of the conference tournament fields, the location of each conference tournament game will be determined by whoever holds the higher seed. Should the Eagles, who currently hold the number one spot in the Commonwealth, continue dominating in conference play, the road to the conference championship will run through Eagle Road and the tremendous support of the Eastern faithful.

“I think we can beat any team,” said Hook. “We’re not making many errors, and [our] pitching is phenomenal.”

“We all knew from the fall that we have the capability to do amazing things and beat the hard competitors in our conference,” said O’Brien. “However, we knew that we had to come into every game with our best stuff. Seeing all of these wins play out is such a joy because we are witnessing our hard work coming to life”

At the time of this publication, the Eagles have three doubleheaders left in the regular season. They will host conference foes Albright and Stevenson each of the next two Saturdays (April 20 & 27) at 1 p.m., as well as travel to DeSales to face a very good Bulldogs squad on April 24 at 5 p.m. The MAC Commonwealth Tournament will take place from May 2-4. For more information on the schedule and tournament, visit goeasterneagles.com, as well as gomacsports.com.

We’re just a month into the new year, and Spring sports are already underway. As a matter of fact, the lacrosse season is starting up in just a couple of weeks. Eastern’s teams are coming into the season with varying expectations and challenges to overcome, along with coaches in the beginning of their new journeys in leading Eastern lacrosse.

On the men’s side, they are entering their first season under new head coach Colin Piper. He’s no stranger to Eastern men’s lacrosse, having played with them from 2017 to 2020 and serving as the team’s offensive coordinator under his predecessor Kevin Wallace the past two years. Though he has big shoes to fill, he has shown confidence and enthusiasm for this new challenge. I had the opportunity to speak with him about this new promotion, and this is what he had to say.

“It’s very surreal to be at the helm of something that I’ve been a part of for so long,” said Piper. “We have a great group of guys, and I’m very blessed to walk into a talented team and a team that’s been playing together for a couple years now and putting my own twist on it.”

Now, the team itself is back with a vengeance. They’ve performed strongly over the previous two seasons against good competition, yet can’t seem to overcome the achilles heel that is Stevenson. They’ve lost every single match they’ve played against the Mustangs, including a heartbreaker in last year’s MAC Commonwealth semifinals where they surrendered a four goal lead in the second half. It’s been a goal of Eastern’s for years now, and Piper labeled it as “an achievable goal.”

“[We] definitely have the talent,” Piper added. “We have a lot of the same pieces and talents there, [and] we brought in some nice pieces this year… We look really good when we’re together and all on the field working. We have the flashes – it’s just doing that consistently game and game out”

The returning pieces and talents Piper mentioned are headlined by graduate student Nicholas Fanelli, who is coming off a historic 2023 which saw him become the program’s all time single-season points leader. The midfield is led by fellow graduate Connor Bachman and senior Nick Litzenberger, who earned 1st team All-Conference honors along with Faneli. This team, however, is led by its defense. Sophomores Sean Dendall and Dominic Marangoni each had monstrous rookie seasons that resulted in All Conference honors, and senior Nathan Gilbert wreaked havoc last year with 30 caused turnovers despite struggling with an injury early on.

Now the women’s side holds a completely different story. The program has undergone some remodeling over the past few years, as they look to pick up the pieces from the disastrous restart from the pandemic. This will be the program’s second season under head coach Mikalah Gillespe, and she describes this season as one to showcase who these players are as individuals.

“Part of this program is demanding great humans,” said Gillespe when I asked about her main goals for her players this season. “They’re patient and resilient, and they have to come back from tough defeats and get right back to work. They have to be resilient, determined, and gracious to each other and themselves. We’re trying to build them up and connect them with each other. We want them to win games, but most importantly, we want them to come out of their four years here as better and stronger people.”

Resilience will be key, especially since the team currently has only 13 players on its active roster. With only one player available off the bench each game (and that’s not accounting for any potential injuries), this team is, to say the least, stretched thin. Recruiting will be a top priority for these Eagles, especially since five of those thirteen players are entering their senior seasons.

As for the players themselves, they do have some key returners to pair with four first years and a transfer. Seniors Emerson Shauger and Teresa Gailey are each coming off career years in scoring and assists, while senior Emily Styles and junior Madison Thomas, who joined the team midway through last season, are back to anchor the defense.

The season for both squads kicks off on February 17. The men play at Washington College at 2 p.m., while the women are here on Olson field in a clash against Wilson. Full schedules can be found at goeasterneagles.com.