The American University lacrosse team will return to the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2008 when it faces top-seeded Colgate on Thursday, April 28 at 4:00 p.m. The Eagles have now appeared in the tournament eight times since joining the conference for the 2002 season, capturing their lone conference title in 2003.

American (9-7, 3-3) will enter the tournament as the fourth-seed after winning its last two contests by a combined margin of 46-8. The Eagles set a program record for goals scored and margin of victory in their 23-3 win over Liberty on April 19, and matched that 23-goal output in a 23-5 win at Davidson on April 23. Kimberly Collins has tallied 12 goals in the last three games while Bernadette Maher is coming off back-to-back hat tricks.

American has thrived on a balanced offensive attack this season as five Eagles have recorded over 30 points and eight have notched over 20. Maher leads the team with 32 goals while Samantha Marshall has recorded 29 and Chiara Speziale and Collins have 28 apiece. American's 209 goals scored are the most since scoring 228 in 2003. The team's 9.89 goals against average, meanwhile, is the team's lowest since recording a 9.28 mark in 2004.

Colgate (8-6, 5-1) won back-to-back games over Lafayette and Bucknell to grab the top seed in this year's Patriot League Tournament and lead the conference in goals per game (14.21), draw controls per game (14.50) and points per game (20.57). Colleen Bubnack has notched a team-high 47 goals for the Raiders and leads the team with 62 points. Three other Raiders have recorded 20 goals or more on the year while Christina Roa has a 13.08 goals against average in goal.

In the only other meeting between the two teams this season, American fell to Colgate 15-12 in Hamilton, N.Y. The last time the two met in the conference tournament was in 2008, when Colgate won 13-8 in the championship game hosted at Jacobs Field. The Eagles are 2-8 against the Raiders dating back to 2003.

American's nine victories this season are the most for the program since going 9-9 in 2007 while its 9-7 record has guaranteed the Eagles a winning record for the first time since going 11-8 in 2003. A win on Thursday will also give the Eagles 10 wins in a season for the first time since 2003 and only the third time in program history.

Fans unable to attend the game in person can watch all of the action live via a subscription to Patriot League All*Access by clicking here, or can follow along via live stats by clicking here. With a victory, American would move on to face either Navy or Lehigh in the Patriot League Championship game on Saturday, April 30. The championship will be broadcast live on CBS College Sports beginning at 3:00 p.m.