Oct. 19, 2008

Box Score

WASHINGTON - The American University field hockey team defeated Towson Sunday afternoon, 4-1, for its second win of the weekend at AU's Jacobs Recreational Complex. Senior Irene Schickhardt recorded five points on two goals and one assist for the second straight game to lead the Eagles to victory.

"We had a fantastic start to the match today moving the ball well, connecting between lines and causing chaos in the offensive circle," Head Coach Steve Jennings said. "It was some of our best hockey to date. After we got up by two we had to deal with Towson's surge, which produced their goal. After some shaky patches, I was proud of the way we galvanized our defense and began creating chances again the rest of the game. It was a nice win against a good team and now we have to get ready for the weekend."

American (8-6, 3-0) pushed the tempo against the Tigers early in the first half and earned their first penalty corner following a Christine Fingerhuth fast break just 1:24 into the game. Jesika Pufnock's shot off the corner was blocked by a Towson defender but the opportunity proved to be an indication of what was to come. The Eagles earned their second penalty corner less than two minutes later but came up empty again before Schickhardt put AU on the board at 6:17. Pufnock began the action with a quick pass off a side-in just outside of AU's offensive zone. Schickhardt then dribbled the ball through the Towson defense in the circle to the right side where she fired a shot which beat Whitney Clugston in goal for Towson for the first goal of the game.

The Eagles added to their lead at 13:13 as Shickhardt netted her second goal to put AU ahead 2-0. This time it was Fingerhuth creating the action as she brought the ball up the right side of the field on a fast break for American. The ball eventually ended up on the stick of Pufnock just outside of the circle on the left hand side of the field. Pufnock sent a crossing pass through the circle which was picked up by Schickhardt in front of the goal and flipped into the net for her second goal.

The Tigers would later cut AU's lead in half, 2-1, on a Danielle Wacker deflection off a long centering pass from Christina Boarman from the left side of the field. The Eagles defense clamped down on Towson after the goal and was able to negate two Tiger penalty corners and a total of three shots to preserve their 2-1 lead heading into the half. American outshot Townson in the frame eight to five and held a four to two advantage in penalty corners.

American's defense continued its strong play early in the second half and again negated two Towson penalty corners to hold onto the lead. After successfully defending against the two Tiger scoring opportunities, the Eagles regained their momentum on offense and added to their lead. Off a sideout near midfield, Schickhardt controlled the ball at the top of the circle and drove into circle, drawing the Towson defense to her. The senior sent a pass through the defenders to an awaiting Fingerhuth alone in front of the goal who deflected the pass past Clugston in goal to push the Eagles advantage back to two, 3-1, at 55:40.

After the restart, the Eagles quickly regained possession and scored their fourth and final goal off an almost identical play as the one before at 57:29. It was Pufnock this time who drove the ball into the circle and sent a pass in front of the net for a diving Megan Henry who redirected the pass into the back of the net to move the score to 4-1 in favor of American. AU remained the aggressor through the final minutes of play and earned two more penalty corners, both resulting in blocked shots, before time expired.

For the second-consecutive game, Schickhardt totaled five points off two goals and one assist. The senior now has a team leading 12 goals on the season, six assists and a team high 30 points. Fingerhuth's goal was her eighth of the year and Henry's was her first. Pufnock was credited with two assists in the match bringing her total to three.

Junior goalkeeper Alyssa Poorman earned her eighth win of the year on Saturday as she made two saves on three shots on goal. The Eagles outshot Towson 14 to six, with seven shots on goal, and earned seven penalty corners to Towson's four.

American will return to action next Saturday, Oct. 25, as the Eagles celebrate senior day against Lafayette at 12 p.m. The game will be a part of AU Athletics first annual Alumni and Friends Weekend. Fans not in attendance at Saturday's game can listen to all of the action live via Eagle Vision All*Access by clicking here.