Box Score The #10 American University field hockey team picked up its
ninth straight win on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over Holy Cross
at Jacobs Field. Christine
Fingerhuth scored both goals for the Eagles in front
of Hannah
Weitzman who recorded her third shutout.
American (10-2, 2-0) held a distinct statistical advantage over
Holy Cross (0-12, 0-2) in the first half despite taking a 0-0 tie
into the intermission. The Eagles outshot the Crusaders 7-1 in the
frame and held a 3-1 margin in penalty corners, but six of
American's shots went wide of the goal to keep Holy Cross in it.
American's best scoring chance came in the 33rd minute when
Jaclyn
Anspach deflected an Anne van
Erp pass on goal. Kelly Sotsky was able to make an
athletic save on Anspach's shot, however, to keep the match
level.
The Eagles came out in the second half with a renewed energy,
and put their second shot on goal just 17 seconds in. American
would attempt six more shots over a 15 minute span, before finally
breaking through in the 54th minute. Lotte
van de Mierop set the stage for Fingerhuth's first
goal, as she forced a turnover outside the 25-meter line and beat
her defender one-on-one to get into the shell. Before van de Mierop
could fire a shot she was taken down from behind, drawing a penalty
stroke which Fingerhuth successfully converted for a 1-0 lead.
Fingerhuth added her second goal less than four minutes later to
make the score 2-0. Gina
Hofmann began the scoring sequence this time, lifting
a ball from near midfield to Melissa
Casale at the 25. Casale turned and fired a pass to
Fingerhuth who then took the ball through two defenders into the
shell. Needing to clear space between herself and the defenders,
Fingerhuth made a sensational spin move before sending a diving
shot to the far post.
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The two goals proved to be all American needed, as the defense
continued to deny Holy Cross scoring opportunities. The Crusaders
were able earn two corners in the final six-plus minutes, but came
away empty as their first attempt went wide and the second was
saved by a diving Weitzman to preserve the shutout.
"Today was a great lesson for us, control of the game
ultimately doesn't matter unless you finish your chances," Head
Coach
Steve Jennings commented. "Fortunately
we were able to get another strong defensive effort and eventually
the goals came. It was very important to get another league win and
now we have a quick turn around for a big match tomorrow against
Duke."
Fingerhuth has scored two goals in each of American's last three
games, bringing her Patriot League leading total to 10. The senior
now has 44 career goals and 99 points, ranking her fifth on the
school's all-time goals list and eighth in career points. With her
next point, Fingerhuth will become just the eighth Eagle to reach
100 points and will tie Denise Infante '08 for seventh place in
program history.
Weitzman made two saves in the cage to earn her third shutout of
the year. American finished the day with a 19-3 advantage in shots
and an 8-3 margin in corners.
American has now won each of its last nine matches to improve to
10-2 on the year. The Eagles nine straight wins mark the team's
longest winning streak since the 2005 squad won 15 in a row, and is
the program's fourth-longest winning streak under Head Coach Steve Jennings. American won a
program-record 17 consecutive matches in 2004, en route to a 19-3
overall record and the team's first appearance in the Elite
Eight.
The Eagles will return to action tomorrow, Sunday, October 10,
at 1:00 p.m. against #14 Duke at Jacobs Field. Sunday's match will
mark the team's fourth annul "Phil Jacobs" event and is the fourth
stop on the "2010-11 Phil Bender World Tour." All Blue Crew members
will receive free Domino's Pizza, free Coca-Cola products and free
Robeks smoothies prior to the match.
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.