When Eastern University takes the field on Saturday at Messiah College to play Rochester in a Division III NCAA Tournament third round match, it will be a first for the small liberal arts school in Radnor Township.
But for second-year head coach Jeremy Payne and two of his assistants, both the setting and the stage will be very familiar.
Payne was a two-time National Player of the Year and won back-to-back national championships at Messiah in 2012-13. His second-year assistant Benjamin Kennel was a teammate of Payne’s on those two national titles and first-year assistant Kirby Robbins was part of the program’s 11th national championship last year.