PL CHAMPIONSHIP ·  #17 American (12-3, 6-0 PL) vs. Lafayette (14-5, 4-2 PL)
Saturday, November 6  ·  Noon  ·  Washington, D.C. (Jacobs Complex)
All-Time Record: American leads, 24-8
Broadcast Talent: Christian Taylor (pxp)

WASHINGTON - The No. 17 American University field hockey team will battle for its 12th Patriot League title on Saturday in a rematch of the 2019 championship, hosting Lafayette at Jacobs Complex at noon. The Eagles entered the tournament as the top seed after clinching its 12th regular season title with an undefeated record in PL play. Lafayette is the two-seed with a 4-2 record in the conference, 14-5 overall.

TICKETS

• Tickets are on sale now for Saturday's Championship online at AUEagles.com/Tickets.
• Tickets are priced at $8 for adults, and $5 for youth and seniors.
• Students of participating schools get in FREE.

MASK POLICY AT AU ATHLETICS EVENTS 

• Individuals are required to wear masks to all American University athletics events, per current AU guidelines.  
• We also encourage social distancing at all of our venues. 

SCOUTING THE LEOPARDS

• Two-seed Lafayette advanced to its 13th Patriot League Championship game with a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over three-seed Bucknell on Thursday. Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Audrey Sawers scored the game-winner in the third minute of extra time.
• Patriot League Rookie of the Year Lineke Spaans along with Molly McAndrew and Alden Boccella added one goal each. Boccella also picked up the assist on the game-winner from Sawers.
• Lafayette holds an overall record of 14-5, including 4-2 in league play with losses to only American and Lehigh, both in overtime.
• The Leopards faced three ranked opponents in the nonconference - #22 Ohio State (2OT L, 4-3), #5 Penn State (L, 3-1), and #3 Rutgers (L, 2-1).
• Sawers leads the Patriot League rankings with 33 points this season (1.74/game) and ranks second for goals (11, .579/game) and assists (11, .579/game).
• Goalkeeper Hailey Abbott has been one of the top performers in the league this season and sits behind American's Bryn Underwood for goals against average (1.229) and save percentage (.747). She is seventh in the league with 3.74 saves per game.

THE QUICK HITS

• Fifth-year senior Noor Coenen scored her 55th career goal on Thursday to secure the Eagles' 1-0 win over Lehigh in the semifinal. With that, Coenen becomes the fifth-highest scorer in league history, surpassing Tara Welch (Holy Cross, '05) and current Lafayette head coach Jennifer Stone (Lafayette, '03).
• This will be the sixth time the Eagles and Leopards meet in the PL Championship. The last time was in 2019 when AU defeated Lafayette at Jacobs, 3-2. American is 4-1 against Lafayette in the final.
• American will fight for its 12th Patriot League title on Saturday. The Eagles already secured their 12th PL regular season title since joining the conference in 2001 after going undefeated in league play for the 10th time in program history.
• AU dominated the Patriot League postseason awards once again with a league-high six honors, including Goalkeeper of the Year Bryn Underwood and Coach of the Year Steve Jennings. This is the 10th Coach of the Year selection for Jennings, and the second consecutive major award for Underwood after she was voted Rookie of the Year last season.
• Two-time Offensive Player of the Year Coenen was named to her fifth consecutive All-Patriot League First Team alongside Underwood and returning Defensive Player of the Year Georgia Davies.
• Fifth-year Gaby de Kock was named to her second consecutive All-PL Second Team while senior Aidan Rossman earned her first All-League distinction after earning PL Scholar-Athlete of the Year last season.
• Rossman repeated as the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was joined on the All-Academic Team by senior Josie Formica and Underwood.

OH THE STORYLINES

• Saturday's final will be a familiar scene for both teams after they faced each other at Jacobs Complex in 2019. American claimed the victory and its 11th Patriot League title with a 3-2 win. Before 2019, the last time the two teams met in the final was also the last time Lafayette brought home the trophy. The two-seed Eagles traveled to Easton, Pa., for the 2012 tournament and faced one-seed Lafayette in the final, falling to the Leopards in overtime, 2-1.
• AU fifth-year Noor Coenen had the potential to be the first player in Patriot League history to win three consecutive Offensive Player of the Year awards this before getting unseated by Lafayette's Audrey Sawers. Both were among the highlights on this year's First Team All-Patriot League.
• In fact, Saturday will showcase 10 of the 24 All-Patriot League selections for 2021, and four of the five major award winners.
• The game will also feature four PL Rookies of the Year with AU's Noor Coenen ('17) and Bryn Underwood ('20), and Lafayette's Molly McAndrew ('18) and Lineke Spaans ('21).
• During Thursday's semifinal win, Coenen surpassed Lafayette head coach Jennifer Stone in the league record books for career points with her 137th. Stone had 135 in her career at Lafayette.
• Lafayette and AU dominate the top-five spots in the league record book for career points - 1. Megan Monahan (Lafayette), 160 points; 2. Deanna DiCroce (Lafayette), 149; 3. Irene Schickhardt (AU), 142; 4. Camila Infante (AU), 138; 5. Noor Coenen (AU), 137.

IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

• The Eagles have been moving through the NFHCA Division I rankings at a steady clip since first appearing in the poll at No. 25 on September 28.
• They peaked at No. 17 last week and retained that position this week - the program's highest ranking since the 2011 season.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS

• As Coenen approaches the end of her storied career at American University, she continues to climb the ranks in not only program history, but also league history.
• She currently sits as the second-highest scorer in AU history with 55 goals in her career, and ranks fourth with 137 points. She also added her name to the all-time lists record board and is tied with Jonnie Lees ('98) for ninth with 27.
• In the Patriot League, the Naarden, Netherlands, native is second all-time for scoring and fifth for career points.
• Coenen also sits among the top active players in Division I, ranking fourth for career goals and is tied for third in career points.

D-FENCE

• American continues to work as one of the toughest defensive squads in the Patriot League, leading the PL in goals against average (1.13), including only allowing .50 goals/ game against league opponents.
• Senior Georgia Davies continues to work as the anchor in the Eagles' backline. She earned her first Patriot League major award last season as the Defensive Player of the Year selection, and was selected to this year's First Team All-Patriot League.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Bryn Underwood also continues to guide AU's defensive unit from the cage. Underwood closed her debut campaign with AU as the first Patriot League Rookie of the Year selection since Noor Coenen in 2017.
• Underwood currently leads the Patriot League with a .814 save percentage and goals against average (1.16), and is third for saves per game (5.0).
• In the conference-only stats she has dominated, averaging .542 goals against and holding a .897 saver percentage with three shutouts.
• Davies, along with classmate Maura Phelan and junior Charllene Boshoff, have been responsible for all three of AU's defensive saves.

For the latest on American University Field Hockey, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_FieldHockey) and Instagram (@aufieldhockey).