Emily Belval joins the staff of first-year head coach Sarah Tompkins as a student-assistant pursuing her undergraduate degree.
Belval was a starter and first-team All-Little East Conference defender as a first-year player in the fall of 2019 before a variety of injuries curtailed the remainder of a promising collegiate career. In Belval’s one healthy year, the team only allowed 23 goals in its final 17 games and didn’t let up more than two goals in a game in 16 of those 17 contests.
In 2019, the Southbury native became the program’s first first-year defender in five years to be selected to the LEC first team. Belval, who took the team’s corner kicks and defensive free kicks, played every minute in the team’s final nine matches. She started 18 of the 19 matches that season and led the team in average minutes (87.7). That year, she had two goals and two assists, with all of her points coming in LEC regular-season play, including an assist which set up an early goal in a 2-1 home win over Plymouth State University on the final day of the regular season which gave Eastern the No. 4 seed and a first-round home game in the playoffs.
The Sport and Leisure Management major earned a spot on the LEC All-Academic Team in both seasons of eligibility (2020 and 2021) and earned an Eastern Scholar-Athlete Award in her first year of eligibility last year.
At Pomperaug High School, Emily was a starting varsity player in her three years in the program and was an All-State player as a senior captain. She also played 11 years with the Connecticut Football Club (CFC).
A senior working toward graduating with a concentration in Sport Science and Performance, Belval is pursuing a possible career in coaching.
