Nov. 11, 2008

Box Score

WASHINGTON - Irene Schickhardt scored both goals in leading the No. 18 American University field hockey team to a 2-0 win over Lock Haven in an NCAA Play-In Game on Tuesday at Jacobs Field. The win advances the Eagles to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Pairings and seeding will be announced Tuesday night.

After a first half that saw Lock Haven put a lot of pressure on American in the early going, the AU defense and a strong six-save showing by Alyssa Poorman sent the game into halftime tied at 0-0. Lock Haven held a 10-8 advantage in shots in the first half. American, who has been a strong second-half team in recent games, did not disappoint the home crowd over the second 35 minutes of play.

American (13-7) took it at Lock Haven from the opening whistle as the second half opened up. Anne-Meike De Wiljes sent a shot just wide at 38:42 and American got its first penalty corner just 20 seconds later and would make good use of it. Anne van Erp inserted the corner, which was stick-stopped by de Wiljes to set up a Schickhardt shot. Lock Haven goalie Erin Terreson was screened on the shot and never had a chance, and AU took a 1-0 lead.

The Eagles continued to swarm the Lock Haven net and Schickhardt tallied her second goal of the contest just over three minutes later. Van Erp inserted a penalty corner at 40:22 that resulted in a hard shot by Savannah Graybill that Terreson turned away. The Eagles got a favorable bounce that fell right to Schickhardt, who blasted a ball high over the left shoulder of Terreson for a 2-0 lead with 28:33 remaining in regulation.

Lock Haven (19-4) had difficulty penetrating into the American end of the field for the majority of the second half and had its best chance at 47:04 to get on the board in the second half when Alanna Lewis sent a low, hard shot on goal that Poorman kicked away to preserve the shutout. The AU defense allowed just four shots in the second half and only two on goal.

"Today was a tale of two halves," said AU head coach Steve Jennings. "In the first half, we let a very talented Lock Haven team dictate the flow of the game and flirted with danger. In the second half, we immediately imposed our will and style into the game and the tide turned. I am really proud of how both our offensive and defensive units stepped up and now we find ourselves back in the NCAA's. It is a terrific achievement for our group and puts us another step closer to our goal."

Poorman finished with eight saves for American, while Terreson made five on the day for Lock Haven. De Wiljes made a defensive save for American in the win.

The AU Eagles had a 20-14 advantage in shots and were led by Christine Fingerhuth, who took seven on the day. Schickhardt took six shots. Lock Haven was led by Blair Wynne, who tallied six shots in the game, four on goal.

American now awaits its pairing and seeding to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament. The first round will be played on Saturday, Nov. 15 with the site still to be determined. Please check back to AUEagles.com following the selection show that takes place at 8 p.m. for more details.