Nov. 6, 2005
WASHINGTON - American University's seventh-ranked field hockey team tallied their third-straight Patriot League Championship crown with a 4-2 win at home against Holy Cross on Friday.
The two teams battled in the midfield for the early minutes of the first half but American got on the board first in the 23rd minute when freshman Irene Schickhardt (Ludwigsburg, Germany/Schiller) drove in all alone from the midfield and beat Crusader goalie Sony Kuhn to go put the Eagles up 1-0.
Six minutes later sophomore Maggie Hall (Annville, Pa./Palmyra) positioned her self in front of the right corner of the HC net where she awaited a Camila Infante (Santiago, Chile/Santiago) pass and deposited the ball in the back of the net. Sophomore defender Denise Infante (Santiago, Chile/Santiago) gave the Eagles a three-goal cushion when she took a pass from fellow back Maureen Daniel (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) and sent a shot screaming into the Crusader goal.
Denise Infante, a Second Team All-Patriot League selection this year, put the Eagles up 4-0 when she tallied her second goal of the game at the 47:51 mark. After a broken penalty corner chance, AU midfielder Shannon Goans (Ellicott City, Md./River Hill) passed Infante the ball, who in turn fired a shot that Kuhn had no chance at.
With a four goal lead, the coaching staff subbed out most of the starters, getting some of AU's younger talent some experience. Holy Cross' Tara Welch scored the Crusaders two goals with eight minutes and less than a minute left in the game, respectively.
"I thought we played a really solid game," said AU head coach Steve Jennings, who was recently named as the 2005 Patriot League Coach of the Year. "We put them under a lot of pressure from start to finish, forcing them to play reactive. We were able to get many good scoring opportunities."
AU goalie Allison Fayfich made two saves in the game, including one blocker save that came on Holy Cross' only penalty corner, when the game was still tied at 0-0. Kuhn made six stops in the contest.
American outshot their opponents 16-5, holding the Crusaders to just one shot in the first half. The Eagles also held a 11-1 advantage in penalty corners. American is now 19-1 on the season, while Holy Cross finishes with a 10-10 mark.
Denise Infante earned her second-consecutive Tournament Most Valuable Player award after posting two goals and an assist on the weekend. As important as her goals were, Infante was an imposing force on defense, stripping numerous defenders and dominating one-on-one situations.
American will have until Tuesday evening at 7:30 to find out who they will be playing in the 2005 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament when CSTV runs the selection show.
Check back to www.AUEagles.com for more information.
