Boxscore

PURCHASE, N.Y. – Despite facing 26 shots, the Manhattanville defense stood ground and allowed just three goals in a 3-1 deficit to ninth-ranked Eastern University in a Freedom Conference field hockey showdown on Saturday afternoon at GoValiants.com Field.

The Valiants held the Eagles scoreless in the first half, although the visiting team did have possession in the offensive zone for most of the half leading to a 12-1 shot advantage and 7-1 in penalty corners.

Eastern broke the scoreless tie three minutes into the second half, as Kim Campbell scored the first of her two goals, beginning with a penalty corner from Christin Haas and a shot by Yvonne Herbster that Campbell picked up and put into the back of the net. Less than two minutes later, the Eagles took a 2-0 lead as Herbster took a shot that was deflected by Brittney Moyer at the back post for her fifth of the season. The Eagles completed their three-goal outburst in a span of 3:20 with Campbell netting her second tally of the contest, as Moyer flipped the ball across the goal mouth to a waiting Campbell for her sixth goal of the season.

Manhattanville responded in the 61st minute as junior Colleen Macedo (Norwalk, Conn.) sent a cross to senior Jen Ascencio (Monroe, N.Y.), allowing her to send a flying backhand to the top corner that cut the deficit to 3-1. The Valiants added pressure late in the contest as sophomore Kayla Meenan (Warminster, Pa.) forced a nice defensive save by Danielle Danser in the goal mouth in the 68th minute.

Goaltending was once again an important factor for the Valiants as freshman Melissa Grant (Hampton, N.H.) made 15 saves, including back-to-back saves on Moyer and Lindsay Corbitt in the 66th minute. Eastern netminder Laura Ressler made one save in the contest for the win.

The Eagles finished the contest with a 26-3 edge in total shots (18-3 on target) and a 15-4 lead in penalty corners.

Manhattanville (3-7, 0-2 Freedom) will get back on the field on Wednesday for a non-conference match against Richard Stockton at 7 p.m. Fans can follow along with live stats on GoValiants.com and live video on GoValiants.TV beginning at 6:55 p.m. Eastern (10-1, 2-0 Freedom) will host Gwynedd-Mercy on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.