The No. 7 American University field hockey team remained unbeaten in Patriot League play with a 6-0 win over Bucknell Saturday afternoon in front of 607 fans at Jacobs Field. Five different Eagles scored in the victory, including Lotte van de Mierop, Gina Hofmann, Anne Van Erp and Jenn Bradley. Freshman Shelly Montgomery tallied two goals to give her eight on the season.

American (14-3, 4-0) peppered the cage in the first period, tallying nine shots to Bucknell's one. Despite applying constant pressure on the Bison defense, the Eagles were not able to break through until the 25th minute. Van de Mierop scored the goal to give American a 1-0 lead, driving the ball through the circle to the left post before sending a backhanded push to the far post. The shot deflected off a Bucknell defender and rolled into the cage for the freshman's eighth goal of the season.

Bucknell (6-10, 2-2) created their lone opportunity of the first half in the final minute, but ultimately the American defense stood strong. The Eagles went into halftime with a 1-0 lead and distinct advantages in both penalty corners (4-0) and shots on goal (4-0).

American came out with a heightened intensity in the second half, notching five goals over a span of 20 minutes. Montgomery started the spurt when she scored her first goal of the game in the 51st minute. The freshman took the ball along the left baseline and went double-board to the far post past Bucknell goalkeeper Sarah Zargarpour.

Hofmann gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead with a direct shot off a penalty corner in the 55^th minute. Less than one minute later, van Erp tallied her sixth goal of the season off a deflection of a Constanza Palma shot on a corner.

In the 59th minute, an American counterattack found Melissa Casale alone behind the Bison defense. Casale attempted a reverse stick shot but hit the post with her attempt, sending the rebound across the circle. Bradley was in position to pick up the loose ball and tapped it home for American's fifth goal. Montgomery went on to add the final goal with six minutes remaining to give the Eagles the 6-0 victory.

American led the Bison in almost every statistical category, outshooting Bucknell 19-2 and holding an 8-1 advantage in penalty corners. Strong defense led to an easy day for keeper Hannah Weitzman, who faced no shots on goal en route to her fifth shutout of the season.

With her assist on Hofmann's goal, senior Kirstin Gebhart moved into a tie for the tenth-most assists during a single season in program history. Gebhart currently leads the Eagles with 12 assists on the year.

At the half, the Eagles celebrated 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. Several members of that squad were in attendance for the ceremony, including Lindsay Carroll, Tiffany Cater, Kaitlin Detroia, Allison Fayfich, Ashley Foley, Shannon Goans, Maggie Hall, Meg Henry, Denise Infante, Heidi Lewis, Jesika Pufnock, Erin Rock, and Katie Turner.

American will return to Jacobs Field next Saturday, October 30 at 11:00 p.m. to face the Lafayette Leopards. Both American and Lafayette will enter the match 4-0 in the Patriot League, with the winner being crowned the regular season champion and earning the right to host the Patriot League Tournament November 5-6.

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.

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