The #7 American University field hockey team had its 12-match win streak snapped Wednesday night, suffering a 3-0 loss to #2 Maryland in College Park, Md.

Maryland (15-1, 4-0) controlled possession of the ball for much of the first half and tested American (13-3, 3-0) goalkeeper Hannah Weitzman early. Weitzman proved to be up to the task, making three saves in the match's first seven-plus minutes. Despite her best efforts, the Terps attack finally broke through in the ninth minute as Katie O'Donnell found the back of the cage for a 1-0 Maryland lead.

The Eagles defense kept Maryland off the scoreboard for the remainder of the period, thanks in large part to the efforts of Tatum Dyer who made several plays to prevent Maryland from entering the shell. The teams would head into the intermission with Maryland leading by the same 1-0 margin.

The Terrapins continued to pressure the American cage early in the second half but Weitzman remained strong, making two more saves in the frame's first 10 minutes. The Eagles threatened to tie the match in the 45th minute as Christine Fingerhuth was fouled en route to the circle, drawing an American penalty corner. Gina Hofmann's shot was sent wide, however, keeping the score at 1-0.

Maryland doubled its lead in the 51st minute when Jemma Buckley converted a Terrapin corner from the top of the shell. American answered back with its best scoring opportunity of the night in the 55th minute, but Melissa Casale was unable to capitalize when she found herself alone with Maryland keeper Melissa Vassalotti. Casale had worked her way behind the defense on the right side of the cage where she received the ball. Her shot was on target but a diving Vassalotti made the save, preserving the Terrapins 2-0 advantage.

Maryland added its third and final goal in the 58th minute as O'Donnell notched her second score the day. The Eagles earned two more penalty corners before the end of regulation but were unsuccessful on each, giving Maryland the final 3-0 margin.

"We did some really good things midway through the first half to get our defense on track and started to bring the ball up the field, but it wasn't until midway through the second half when we really started to generate actual scoring chances," Head Coach Steve Jennings commented. "Hannah was tremendous tonight in the cage and made Maryland have to score great goals. Tatum was huge in rescuing us in a number of situations and helped to steady the ship. The bottom line is that Maryland was better than us tonight, and they played very well defensively and offensively."

Weitzman made six saves in the cage against nine Terrapin shots on goal. Dyer, meanwhile, recorded her second defensive save of the year, stopping a Janessa Pope shot in the 63rd minute. The Eagles finished the match trailing Maryland 18-5 in shots and was outcornered 11-3.

American will return to action on Saturday, October 23, when the Eagles welcome Bucknell to Jacobs Field at 12:00 p.m. At halftime, American will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the 2005 season, when American posted a 20-2 overall record and made the program's second appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight.

Fans unable to attend the match can catch all of the action live through AUeagles.com via a subscription to Eagles Vision TV. Year-long subscriptions are $49.95 and allow you to watch every live broadcast produced by Eagles Vision TV and access to the Eagles Vision TV archives to watch past games on-demand. Single-game subscriptions, which are only available during live broadcasts, are also available for $5.95 per event.