ST. DAVIDS, PA. (October 26, 2019) – Senior Ireland Tawney and freshman Emma Brunet both netted first half goals and sophomore Emily Franco registered eight saves in goal to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology field hockey team to a 2-1 victory over Eastern University.

With the win, the Ducks are now 10-7 this season and 3-3 in MAC Freedom competition. Stevens now controls its own destiny to make it into the MAC Freedom Championship Tournament, as a win over FDU-Florham in next Wednesday's contest would clinch one of the top four spots in the conference.

Eastern, meanwhile, cut the deficit to 2-1 early in the third quarter thanks to a goal from Ali Balmer, but could not add anymore as they dropped to 5-11 this season and 2-4 in conference play.

For their first goal of the game, the Ducks earned a penalty corner with just under three minutes left in the first quarter. After the original pass went to the top of the circle to Michaela Thompson, the senior from Manasquan, New Jersey, fired the ball into the circle to Tawney who was able to deflect the shot into the back of the net for her fifth goal of the season.

Stevens' second goal was a brilliant individual effort by Brunet, who was able to dodge a pair of defenders in the circle and fire a shot to the left of the goalkeeper and produce the second goal of her career.

The Ducks have now played a total of 12 one-score games this season and hold a 7-5 record in those contests.

Turning Point

• Five minutes into the fourth quarter, the Eagles threatened to tie things up with four promising scoring opportunities.
• Abigail Giesler began the threat with a pair of shots back-to-back in less than 10 seconds of game action but was denied by the Stevens defense who blocked both shots.
• With 51:33 on the clock, Eastern earned their seventh penalty corner of the game leading directly to a shot from Joelle Walsh. Her shot was denied, however, by Franco and the ball was cleared out of the circle.
• The Ducks stiffened the rest of the way, not allowing another shot for the remainder of the match.

Inside the Numbers

• Stevens out-shot the Eagles 21-16 in the game while the two teams were even with nine shots on goal each.
• The win for the Ducks snaps a four-game losing streak, the last three of which came by one score.
• Franco registered seven saves in the victory, her third-highest total of the season and her highest in a game Stevens won.
• Thompson leads the team and now ranks third in the MAC Freedom with seven assists this season.
• Allison Buffenbarger led the Ducks with five total shots while Thompson posted a team-high three shots on goal.
• With 11 more penalty corners in the game, Stevens now ranks eighth in all of NCAA Division III with 11.75 penalty corners per game.

Unsung Hero

• Thompson now leads the team in points despite only producing four goals on the year. The 2019 Victory Sports Tours/NFHCA Division III Senior Game selection also has taken a team-high 53 shots this season.

From the Sidelines (Head Coach Meredith Spencer-Blaetz)

• "I'm very proud of the team today. We went into the game with a 'refuse to lose' mentality and did just that. Our solid defensive unit was fantastic, and our offense was generating the types of shots we are looking for. We'll keep pushing forward."

Next Up

• The Ducks will play in their final home contest of the season Wednesday against FDU-Florham at 7:00 p.m.
• Stevens holds a 5-3 overall record in the last eight contests in between the teams, although the Devils were able to grab a 3-1 victory the last time out on Sept. 2, 2018.
• Live stats and video will be available at StevensDucks.com.