Oct. 18, 2008

Box Score

WASHINGTON - The No. 20 American University field hockey team extended its current winning streak against Patriot League opponents to 37 games on Saturday as the Eagles downed Bucknell, 4-0, at the Jacobs Recreational Complex. Senior Irene Schickhardt netted her ninth and tenth goals of the season to lead AU in the win and was also credited with her fifth assist.

"I was really happy with our ability to build throughout this game," Head Coach Steve Jennings said. "Bucknell is a tough opponent and they certainly made it difficult for us in the early going. In the end, we had another excellent defensive effort to secure the shutout and some timely finishing from our forwards and corner unit. It will be critical for us to continue to make subtle improvements in these areas to get us where we want to go this year but I was very pleased with the overall effort today."

Bucknell controlled possession of the ball for several minutes as the first half of play began but the Bison were limited to only one shot by the strong defensive play of AU (7-6, 3-0). After a Bucknell foul deep in American's defensive zone, Schickhardt created AU's first scoring opportunity as she took a pass off the ensuing long hit near midfield and sprinted through the Bison defense on a breakaway. Schickhardt's shot from inside of the circle was stopped by Bucknell goalkeeper Jessie Atieh but the ball came away from her and back to Schickhardt who this time put the ball away in the back corner of the net from the right side of the circle for the game's first goal at 10:15.

The Eagles were back on the attack just minutes later as a Bison penalty in AU's striking circle resulted in the first of AU's 10 penalty corners on the day. Freshman Natalie Ellenberger inserted the corner for American from the left side of the goal to junior Anne-Meike De Wiljes who could not cleanly stop the pass but remained in possession of the ball. De Wiljes then dribbled the ball into the right side of the circle and fired a shot past Atieh on the near side of the net to put AU ahead 2-0 at 15:56.

Bucknell attempted to cut the Eagles lead in half in the 25th minute, putting consecutive shots on goal, but came up short on each attempt. The Bison's first shot on goal of the game came at 25:21 and was taken by Katie Ruiz but was put aside by Eagles goalkeeper Alyssa Poorman. The rebound off Ruiz's shot was handled by Bucknell and the ball was fed back to Ruiz who put a second shot on goal but again Poorman was in position to make the save and preserve American's two-goal lead. AU would put three more shots on goal itself before the period closed out but was unable to convert on each of them.

The Eagles came charging out of the intermission and quickly earned a penalty corner with just over one-minute elapsed in the the half. Ellenberger once again inserted the corner for AU but the resulting shot taken by Schickhardt was ruled a dangerous play and the opportunity negated. In the 43rd minute AU's missed opportunity was redeemed however as the Eagles were again awarded a penalty corner, inserted this time by sophomore Anne van Erp. Van Erp's pass was stopped by De Wiljes and fed to Schickhardt who passed on a shot and fed the ball into the left side of the circle to sophomore Christine Fingerhuth. Fingerhuth wound up a on a shot and beat the Bison defense with the one-timer, putting AU up by three, 3-0.

American remained aggressive with its attack throughout the period and was able to put a total of nine shots, including seven on goal, on the board in the frame. The Eagles aggresiveness was awarded late in the period as they were able to convert on their final penalty corner of the day to push their lead to 4-0 at 69:13. It was Ellenberger on the insertion for American this time as she fed her pass into De Wiljes at the top of the circle. De Wiljes passed the ball off to Schickhardt at the top left of the circle and her shot beat Sarah Zargarpour in goal for AU's fourth and final goal.

Schickhardt finished the game with five points off two goals and one assist. The senior now leads the team with 10 goals, five assists and 25 points. De Wiljes' goal in the first period was her second on the year and her assist on AU's final goal was her team-leading seventh. Fingerhuth has now recorded seven goals on the year while Ellengerger's assist was her sixth.

Poorman was credited with her seventh win of the season and her sixth shutout. She faced a total of four shots on the day, with three coming on goal, and made three saves. American finished the match with 18 shots, 13 on goal, and 10 penalty corners to Bucknell's two.

American's win is its third in PL competition this season and its 37th straight victory over a PL opponent dating back to the 2003 season.

The Eagles will be back in action again tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 19, at 1 p.m. as they face Towson at the Jacobs Recreational Complex. Fan can listen to the game live via Eagle Vision All*Access by clicking here.