College Park, Md. - American University may have surprised some people with earned bid (via the Patriot League Championship last weekend) but for 60 minutes they played the 17th-ranked Maryland Terrapins to a 0-0 draw.
Despite giving up a goal, the Eagles never quit and in the final 30 minutes had several opportunities to tie the game up. Overall, they proved their first appearance in the NCAA's may not be their last.
Maryland came close to scoring at the 28 minute mark, but senior Sara Jagare (Uppsala, Sweden) raced back and kicked the ball out earn the team a save. The Terrapins outshot AU 12-3 in the first 45 minutes and 25 to three for the game.
Jen Liese (Rushland, Pa./Council Rock) picked up eight saves in the match, with several of them spectacular, however, she received tremendous support from Lena Winkler (Denver, Colo./St. Mary's) and Amy Muller (Rockville Centre N.Y. /South Side). In fact, Maryland scored just 30 seconds after Muller was forced to the sidelines with an ankle injury. She returned several minutes later. Winkler's play was equally amazing when you consider an ankle injury suffered in the Patriot League Semifinal game versus Navy forced her to miss her first game of the year last Sunday.
"Our goal was to keep it close for the first 15 minutes," said AU head coach Mike Brady."We knew that would come out hard and fast and we showed great containment and discipline."
Simone Konig (Gartringen, Germany/School of Economics in Boblingen) had a direct kick with ten minutes left, which was AU's last solid chance at tying the game. Konig had two shots on the game while freshman Natalie Rodovsky (Chappaqua, N.Y./Horace Greeley) had the other shot for the Eagles.
"Playing Maryland so well at their place was a tremendous accomplishment," said Brady. "Part of that is because of all the support we received from the AU community. There is a great sense of support in the AU community from the athletes, coaches, administration, fans and alumni."
Game Summary 1 2 F
American 0 0 0
Maryland 0 1 1
Scoring:
MD - Kimmy Francis (Jen Biscoe, 59:53)
Shots: MD 25; AU 3 Saves: AU 8; MD 2 Corners: MD 4; AU 2 Fouls: AU 12; MD 9
