After once again climbing in the Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll, the No. 9 American University field hockey team will travel north for a pair of weekend matches. The Eagles will first look to clinch a spot in the Patriot League Tournament against Colgate on Saturday, October 16 at 1:00 p.m. before taking on No. 18 Albany on Sunday, October 17 at 3:00 p.m.

American (11-2, 2-0) is coming off another strong weekend of play, taking care of business against Holy Cross, 2-0, and No. 16 Duke, 3-1. The Eagles are led by senior Christine Fingerhuth, who was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week for the third consecutive week Monday. Fingerhuth now leads the team with 11 goals and ranks fifth on American's career goals list (45) and seventh on the all-time points list (101). Five other Eagles have recorded at least four goals this season, including Shelly Montgomery (6), Melissa Casale (4), Gina Hofmann (4), Anne van Erp (4) and reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Week Lotte van de Mierop (6). Hofmann has notched a team-high 10 assists this season and is 14th in the NCAA in assists per game (0.77).

American goalkeeper Hannah Weitzman has been outstanding in the cage this season. She is currently ranked fourth in the nation with a 0.87 goals against average and also sports a .711 save percentage. She has allowed only six goals in the past eight games, four of which came against nationally ranked opponents.

American's strong play has helped the team earn 16 of the possible 28 conference honors awarded this season, with ten different student-athletes being recognized. As a team, the Eagles rank seventh nationally in both scoring average (3.46) and points per game (10.0). Their 2.38 scoring margin is fifth in the country.

Colgate (4-9, 1-1) is coming off a 5-1 victory over Lehigh last weekend and is 2-3 in its last five matches. The Raiders are led by senior Laura Denenga's, who has notched a team-high seven goals and 17 points this season. Underclassmen Adrianna Libutti and Halle Biggar have each scored four goals, and two of Biggar's were game winners. In the cage, goalkeeper Kirsten Lalli sports a 3.01 gaa and .768 save percentage in 884 minutes of action.  

No. 18 Albany (11-3, 2-0) had its seven-match win streak snapped last weekend with a 2-1 overtime loss to No. 8 Syracuse. Christina Patrick leads the team with 11 goals and 27 total points, while Daphne Voormolen and Corrine McConville have notched eight and seven goals, respectively. Albany has outscored its opponents by a margin of 40-19 this season, including a 25-7 advantage in the second half. Goalkeeper Christine Hofmann ranks 26th in the nation with a 1.58 gaa and has allowed five goals in the previous seven matches.