PL Semifinal  ·  #2 American (4-1 PL) vs. #3 Bucknell (3-3 PL)
Thursday, April 22  ·  5:30 p.m.  ·  Boston, Mass. (New Balance Field)
All-Time Record: American leads, 27-8

WASHINGTON - The American University field hockey team will look to defend its 2019 Patriot League title this week as the Eagles travel to Boston for the PL Championship Tournament. The second-seeded Eagles will open at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday with the semifinal round against No. 3 Bucknell. The winner of that game will face No. 1 Boston University/No. 4 Holy Cross in the Championship final at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 24.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Eagles split the series against the Bison this season, opening the year with a 4-0 shutout at home before traveling to Lewisburg, Pa., where they recorded their only loss after a double-overtime battle, 2-1.
• American has controlled the 35-game series against Bucknell, though, with a 27-8 record dating back to the first meeting in 1990 which AU won in D.C., 4-2.
• AU hit an 11-game win streak from 2002-2010, and have won 10 of the last 13. 
• This is the third time in the last four seasons that the two teams have met during the Patriot League semifinal in Boston. The Bison took the 1-0 win in 2017 after the game pushed into a shootout, but the Eagles earned their redemption in 2018 with a 1-0 victory in regulation to advance to the championship.

AWARDS SEASON

• American dominated the Patriot League postseason major awards on Tuesday, collecting three of the five with senior Noor Coenen leading the way with her second consecutive Offensive Player of the Year honor. Junior Georgia Davies earned her first postseason major award as the PL Defensive Player of the Year, and goalkeeper Bryn Underwood was voted as the Rookie of the Year.
• Senior Gaby de Kock joined the trio in the release as an All-Patriot League Second Team selection. Both Coenen and Davies were named to the First Team.
• This latest honor continues to solidify Coenen in the record books for both the program and the league as one of the best players in recent history. She joins a distinguished group as one of four players in program history to earn back-to-back Player of the Year nods along with Rafaela Rubas (2017, 2018), Camila Infante (2004, 2005), and Christine Fingerhuth (2009, 2010). She is also one of only seven players in Patriot League history to have won both Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year, and joins a stratosphere known only to the AU program as one of three players in league history to ever earn two Player of the Year honors after also being selected as the Rookie of the Year. The only other two players to ever reach such heights were Infante and Rubas.
• For Davies, the Defensive Player of the Year award was a long time coming after she continues to anchor one of the best defensive lines in the country. With her at the helm, the Eagles have posted two shutout victories this season and rank ninth in the country after allowing opponents only 1.0 goals per game. Davies closed last season with her first career All-Patriot League nod, and joined Coenen as the only two Eagles on the Preseason All-League Team this year.
• Underwood is also making history for American as the program's first goalkeeper to be voted as PL Rookie of the Year. She is the ninth Eagle to ever earn the award and the first since Coenen in 2017. The Sinking Spring, Pa., native has played every minute of the regular season in goal for AU, and leads the league with two shutouts in her five games. She also ranks fourth in the PL with 18 saves, including a career-high eight during the 2-1 double-overtime win against Lafayette on April 4. The freshman also ranks eighth in Division I for save percentage (.833) and 10th for goals against average (0.86).

SCOUTING THE EAGLES

• American enters the tournament off its third double-overtime game of the season after pushing Lafayette to 75 minutes before clinching the 3-2 victory. Coenen led the Eagles with a pair of goals while junior Aidan Rossman added one.
• Underwood was just one save shy of tying her career-high, picking up seven on the day to lead AU from the cage.
• American led Lafayette in shots, 16-15, and penalty corners, 9-5.
• Eight players have contributed to AU's score sheet this season, starting with Coenen who leads the team with 10 points off three goals and four assists. 
• Rossman and sophomore Julia Kraft have a pair of goals each while five Eagles have pitched in one goal apiece. Of those five are sophomore Merel Dupont and junior Maura Phelan who each scored their first career goals earlier this season.
• Sophomore Abby Kreider is the only other player to have pitched in an assist in five games.
• The freshman class stepped into impactful roles this season, starting with Rookie of the Year Underwood who has played every game in goal for the Eagles so far. Imogen Hatton, Emily Horace, and Kendall Jung have also put in minutes in all five games of the regular season.
• The Eagles continue to be one of the top teams in the country for penalty corners, drawing an average of 10.0 per game to lead the Patriot League and rank second in Division I. 
• American also leads the league in goals (12), shots (15.60), and goals allowed per game (1.0).
• Individually, Coenen ranks eighth in the country for assists per game (0.8), 13th for points per game (2.0), and 29th for goals per game (0.6). Underwood joins her in the national rankings, coming in sixth for save percentage (.833) and 10th for goals against average (0.86).

SCOUTING THE BISON

• Bucknell had a slow start to the season, posting consecutive losses to Colgate (2-1), American (4-0) and Lehigh (4-0) before bouncing back an dclaiming its first win of the year with a 2-1 double-overtime victory over the Eagles. 
• Since then, the Bison have notched wins over Colgate, 1-0, and Lafayette, 3-2.
• Bucknell placed four on the All-Patriot League Teams - Kaelyn Long (First Team), Erin Zielinski (First Team), Sarah Dimock (Second Team) and Leah Fogelsanger (Second Team).
• It's freshman Rachel Apa, though, who leads the squad with five points off a pair of goals and an assist. Long ranks second with four points and is one of five players to have scored one goal during the regular season.
• Junior Peyton Fischer started two games early in the season but it's been all Clara McCormick in the last three games. McCormick has 25 saves in her 259 minutes and holds a .806 save percentage.
• Bucknell leads the Patriot League with 36 saves and ranks third with 1.17 assists per game.

AUFH IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• American continues to lead the Patriot League with 20 consecutive PL Tournament appearances since joining the league in 2001. Bucknell is next with its 12th consecutive PL Tournament berths.
• The Eagles are 25-8 in the tournament and have won 11 of the last 18 titles, including an eight-year title run from 2003-10.
• The only teams to ever defeat AU in the PL tournament are Boston University (2014, 2015, 2018), Bucknell (2011, 2017), Lafayette (2001, 2012), and Holy Cross (2002).
• There have only been five years since 2001 in which the Eagles failed to advance out of the semifinal round - 2001, 2002, 2011, 2014, and 2017.

NEXT UP...
With a win on Thursday, American will advance to the Patriot League Championship game, scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, where they will face either No. 1 Boston University or No. 4 Holy Cross. 

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