HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata field hockey team earned the fifth spot in the Landmark Conference postseason with their 2-1 win over visiting Elizabethtown College in the final game of the regular season, Tuesday evening at Knox Stadium.
Kaylyn Walters and Colleen Creneti scored for Juniata, while Amanda Puza made nine saves in goal.
A scoreless first period was in large part thanks to Puza in the cage for Juniata, who made four stops as the Blue Jays took five shots in the first quarter.
Midway through the second quarter, Juniata earned a penalty stroke that Walters calmly put into the right corner as the goalie dove the wrong way.
Juniata led 1-0 at halftime, while the Blue Jays had an 8-7 advantage on shots and a 4-3 lead on penalty corners.
The Eagles outshot Etown in the third 5-4, but the second breakthrough occurred in the fourth.
Five minutes into the fourth quarter, Creneti received the corner from Sierra Rossman and took a touch before smashing the ball towards goal. It deflected off a Blue Jay stick and in to double the Eagle lead.
Morgan Martin made a defensive save at the back post to deny a visitor goal late in the fourth, but Blue Jays eventually scored in the final 34 seconds. Juniata took the ball to the corner and killed off the game's final seconds.
The win means the Eagles returns to the Landmark Conference playoffs for the first time since 2017, when they won the Landmark Conference Championship in thrilling fashion in overtime at the University of Catholic.
Juniata will travel to face the #4 seed Moravian University on Saturday at 7:00.
