BALTIMORE, Md. - Senior attacker Casey Harkins scored her first hat trick of the season, fifth of her career, to lead the American University lacrosse team, but the Eagles fell to #14 Loyola Maryland in their Patriot League opener, 21-4.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Harkins accounted for AU's first three goals of the game, including an equalizer in the early minutes after the Greyhounds opened scoring for the day. 
• Sophomore attacker Emma Hare put away the Eagles' fourth and final goal off an aggressive run from the corner in the seventh minute of the second half.
• Senior Emma Vinall pitched in AU's lone assist on the day, sending in a long pass to Harkins after a caused turnover in the midfield from junior Ashley Go midway through the first half.
• Senior goalkeeper Delaney Oliveira picked up five saves in her full 60 minutes of play.
• The Greyhounds put 11 players on the scoreboard, starting with a four-goal effort from Livy Rosenzweig. Emily Wills and Sam Fiedler added a hat trick each. Rosenzweig also pitched in three of the team's 10 assists for a game-high seven points.
• Loyola dominated the draw circle, bringing down 19 draw controls to AU's eight. The Greyhounds also went 12-for-17 in clears while the Eagles completed eight of their 13. 

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH LINDSAY TEETERS...
"Today was a tough one. We certainly faced a tough team in Loyola, but I think we unfortunately caused many of our own turnovers. I think there's certainly a lot for us to continue to work on, and you know we had some shining moments. I think they only credited Delaney [Oliveira] with only five saves, but I'm pretty sure she had more. So from a goalie perspective I thought she really came on strong today and helped us out. And, you know, we're trying a new system and we're trying to see what's going to work and what isn't, and it's still early in the season. So the hope is that we can continue to use these losses to help us understand where we need to work on things and what changes we need to make."

NEXT UP...
American will make their home debut on Wednesday, March 10, with a noon draw against crosstown rival George Washington. The game will be the first of four consecutive home contests for the Eagles, as they prepare to host Lehigh on March 13, Navy on March 20, and Longwood on March 24.

PLEASE FOLLOW US ONLINE ONLY; NO FANS OR SPECTATORS PERMITTED ON CAMPUS

• Per Washington, D.C. and American University guidelines, and for the health and safety of our coaches, student-athletes and campus community, no spectators are permitted at athletics events in 2020-21.
• This policy is a stipulation of our approval to host athletic events from D.C. Department of Health and D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
• We do not anticipate a change in these guidelines this semester. Violators will be escorted from the site and jeopardize our ability to host athletic events for our student-athletes.
• All American University athletic events played on campus this spring will be streamed on ESPN+ (FAQ HERE) and can also be watched through the Patriot League's International Video Stream.
• Schedules and game updates can be found at www.AUeagles.com and our Twitter account @AUeagles.
• All scheduled events and start times are subject to change. 

For the latest on American University Lacrosse, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_Lacrosse) and Instagram (@au_wlax).