Oct. 5, 2008

Box Score

WASHINGTON - The No. 20 American University field hockey team, led offensively by Irene Schickhardt for the second straight day, defeated La Salle, 3-0, in non-conference action on Sunday at Jacobs Field. The win pulled the Eagles back to the .500 mark for the first time since Sept. 17 and Schickhardt's four-point performance gave her 11 points in two games over the weekend.

In the opening minutes of the first half, American held the majority of possession but failed to penetrate through the circle for any real offensive threats. The Eagles defense did a great job of holding the Explorers out of their end of the field, and La Salle didn't get deep into AU territory until over 10 minutes into the game.

American's (5-5) offense began to find its rhythm just under 16 minutes into the game, when the Eagles were awarded their first of 14 penalty corners of the game. The penalty unit would eventually be the difference in this game, but in this instance it resulted in Schickhardt's first shot of the day, that went just wide of the Explorers goal. AU got its second chance at 20:45, and would not waste it. Natalie Ellenberger inserted the ball, which was stick-stopped by Anne-Meike De Wiljes. Schickhardt's shot off the stop was good and resulted in a 1-0 lead that would hold up until the second half.

La Salle (5-7) had no answer for American in the second half, as the Eagles held court in the Explorer end for the majority of the half. The Eagles took five unanswered shots to open the half, and finally connected at 47:18. Ann van Erp inserted a penalty corner but the play was disrupted. The ball fell to the stick of Savannah Graybill who sent a shot towards the goal. Jesika Pufnock redirected the shot past La Salle goalie Emma Ruth for the 2-0 lead.

Schickhardt picked up her second goal of the day in the same fashion as the first. A penalty corner was awarded to the Eagles and Ellenberger again fed de Wiljes with Schickhardt slamming the shot home for her fifth goal in two days and the final tally in a 3-0 win over the Explorers.

"We played some great hockey today and moved the ball very well," said AU head coach Steve Jennings. "Our transfers opened up a lot of space and our forwards pressured LaSalle's deep defense--particularly their goalkeeper to make some excellent saves.  Now we have to move forward and get ready for next week."

With 11 points in two days, Schickhardt moves into a tie for fifth in career points (114) with Sage Asteak (1996-99). She moved into fifth in career goals (40), and a tie for fifth in career assists (32).

Ruth stayed busy in goal all day for La Salle, making eight saves. Alyssa Poorman made one stop in goal for American. The Eagles outshot the Explorers by a 23-2 margin and took 14 corners to La Salle's two.

American will hit the road for a pair of contests in New York next weekend. The Eagles will face Colgate on Oct. 11 at 11 a.m. in Patriot League action before taking on No. 2 Syracuse on Oct. 12 at 2 p.m.