WASHINGTON - For the third time this season, the American University field hockey team found itself in extra time as the Eagles battled Lafayette for 75 minutes on Sunday before securing the 3-2 victory to close the regular season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Senior Noor Coenen put away two goals, including the game winning penalty stroke in the 76th minute. Junior Aidan Rossman also found herself on the score sheet with her second goal of the season. 
• Freshman goalkeeper Bryn Underwood earned seven saves on the day to just miss her career-high of eight from the win over Lafayette earlier in the season.
• This is the second time this season the Eagles battled to a late win over the Leopards. AU came away with a 2-1 victory in Easton, Pa., on April 4 behind a goal from sophomore Merel Dupont during regulation, and the game winner from senior Gaby de Kock. In both games, the golden goal came during the 76th minute.
• American led Lafayette in shots, 16-15, and penalty corners, 9-5.
• Audrey Sawers and Grace Angelella earned Lafayette's two goals on the day while Sawers, Sophie Carr, and Anna Steps pitched in the game's three assists.
• Hailey Abbott played the full game in goal for the Leopards and picked up four saves.
• American was the first to get on the board, capitalizing off the first penalty corner of the day. De Kock found Coenen on the insertion but the initial shot was blocked by a Lafayette defender. Coenen was quick to collect the loose ball, though, and fired away the rebound to give the Eagles a 1-0 edge.
• Neither team managed to get a clean look at goal until the final minute of the first quarter when Lafayette drew its first penalty corner of the day. Audrey Sawers sent in the ball from the top of the circle where it found the stick of Grace Angelella for the redirection past Underwood.
• Rossman retook the advantage for the Eagles in the third minute of the second quarter, firing in a shot through Lafayette's defense after an attempt from Dupont was deflect by the Leopards' keeper.
• Lafayette made a late push to close the half, but Underwood came away with a pair of clutch saves in the last minute to maintain the Eagles' lead at 2-1 heading into the break.
• Underwood added another bit of heroics to start the second half, coming away with a clutch save after Lafayette's Sawers made a run along the end line. That was the only look for either team until midway through the quarter when Lafayette picked up its second penalty corner of the day. This time, it was Sawers again with the shot off assists from Carr and Steps to draw even at 2-2.
• The Eagles battled to break the tie in the closing minutes of the stanza, drawing three penalty corners in the last 90 seconds. Sophomore Charllene Boshoff got off a pair of shots but both were blocked, and a final shot from junior Josie Formica was picked up by Abbott.
• The two teams continued to go back-and-forth in the fourth quarter, with Lafayette putting up six shots and the Eagles five in the final 10 minutes of regulation. But Abbott and Underwood each came away with a pair of saves, including one by Abbott after a flurry of looks from AU in the final five minutes, to send the game into overtime.
• American continued to lay on the pressure in the first 10 minutes of extra time, putting up a pair of shots off two penalty corner opportunities, but couldn't quite find the back of the cage. It looked like the second overtime period was going to be much the same until the final five minutes when Coenen was fouled in the circle after the Eagles' ninth corner of the day. For the second consecutive game, American found itself with a penalty stroke opportunity and once again the Eagles capitalized, with Coenen sending in the shot in the bottom right corner of the cage to end the game.

UP NEXT...
The Eagles will enter postseason play as the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and will face No. 3 Bucknell in the semifinal round on Thursday, April 22, at 5:30 p.m. in Boston. The top-seeded Terriers will play No. 4 Holy Cross at noon on Thursday in the other semifinal matchup. The winners of both games will face off in the Patriot League Championship on Saturday, April 24.




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