WASHINGTON – Junior Natalie Konerth scored the game-winning goal with 12:51 remaining in the second overtime to lead the American University field hockey team to a 4-3 victory over Indiana on Sunday afternoon.

With the victory, the Eagles snapped a two-game losing streak and moved to 10-6 on the season, while the Hoosiers dropped to 8-9 overall.

Konerth's winning goal came on a direct penalty corner, set up by freshman Rafaela Rubas. It was the fifth corner attempt of the overtime periods for the Eagles, who limited Indiana to just one penalty corner in overtime.

The overtime periods nearly didn't happen, as American trailed 3-2 in the waning seconds of regulation. The Eagles drew a pair of penalty corners in the final 30 seconds to set up a final scoring opportunity. With the clock reading 0:00, senior Isabel Terwindt tallied the equalizer, deflecting a pass from Konerth at the top of the circle.

"[The last goal in regulation] was everything for us, because it was either score that or go home," said American head coach Steve Jennings. "We knew that corner was available, and at the end of the day, we worked really hard to be able to execute under pressure and the kids did a great job."

American led for most of the game, getting on the board early in the first half when junior Natalie Marsh scored on a deflection on a penalty corner in the 13th minute of action. The Eagles held on to their 1-0 lead for the rest of the period, despite being outshot 8-5 by the Hoosiers.

AU added to its advantage just over six minutes into the second half when Terwindt sent a hard pass into the circle, finding sophomore Sophia Crawshay, who then passed it cleanly to senior Katie Lonsky for the goal. The Eagles' two-goal cushion was short-lived, however, as Indiana capitalized on its own penalty corner less than two minutes later.

The Hoosiers scored the equalizer during a man-up situation with under 15 minutes to go in regulation. Indiana then took the lead when Claire Woods stole the ball from an AU defender in the circle to put it past American goalkeeper Kate McBeath with 7:03 on the clock. However, the Eagles remained aggressive, setting up the game-tying situation at the end of the half.

Indiana had a 16-12 shot advantage in regulation, but American had the edge in overtime, outshooting the Hoosiers 6-1. McBeath recorded eight saves in the winning effort for the Eagles, while Indiana goalkeeper Noelle Rother registered six stops.

"I think it's really easy to put your head down, get frustrated and believe that the game is over, but we just kept fighting," said Jennings. "We fought off the momentum change [in the second half] and got back on the front foot. In overtime, it was anybody's game.

"I just loved the perseverance and resiliency of our team and that's what we always work on in training."

The Eagles close out the regular season next Saturday, Oct. 31, when they host Bucknell in a Patriot League showdown.