BOSTON - The American University field hockey team battled for 80 minutes against Bucknell during Thursday's Patriot League Tournament semifinal round, but fell to the Bison, 2-1, after the game went into a shootout.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• This is the second time that the Eagles fell to Bucknell in a semifinal shootout. The first, also a 2-1 loss in Boston, came during the 2017 tournament.
• The Eagles held the advantage in shots, 18-15, and shots on goal, 9-5, but for the first time this season trailed in penalty corners, 12-8. 
• Bucknell goalkeeper Clara McCormick closed with eight saves while AU's Bryn Underwood came up with four.
• Senior Noor Coenen put up six of American's 18 shots, followed by sophomore Charllene Boshoff and freshman Imogen Hatton who had three each.
• The two teams were scoreless through 50 minutes of play with the Eagles leading in shots, 8-4, and tied in penalty corners, 4-4. With just over five minutes remaining in regulation, Bucknell took a 1-0 lead after Megan Keeney capitalized on some confusion in front of goal and slid in a shot from behind Underwood.
• The Eagles were quick to respond, though, with senior Gaby de Kock once again coming up clutch and jumping on the loose ball after a shot from freshman Imogen Hatton was saved by Bucknell goalkeeper Clara McCormick.
• Bucknell put on the pressure during overtime but Underwood had a response each time, coming up with four saves on the Bison's five shots, including two within 10 seconds to push the game into double-overtime.
• It was the same story in the second set of extra time, with Bucknell drawing three penalty corners and getting off four shots while the Eagles put up only one. By the end of 80 minutes, neither team was able to gain the advantage and for the first time since September 8, 2019, the Eagles were pushed into a shootout.
• Coenen was the first up, and she flipped in a nice shot past the oncoming Bucknell keeper to give AU the early 1-0 advantage. The Bison responded in kind, with Rachel Apa getting on past Underwood. Megan Keeney followed with another to give Bucknell a 2-1 lead after an AU attempt was saved. From there, it was all about the goalkeepers as McCormick came up with three saves and Underwood two to close the game.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH STEVE JENNINGS...
"Really proud of the effort. So disappointed that we didn't come up with the victory today but obviously credit to Bucknell they played a really hard fought game, a really strong game. It could have gone either way for a long time and they were able to prevail in the shootout, so congratulations to them and we wish them the best. But yeah, really proud of our effort and just disappointed that our season's over. I think we had some really good passing combinations, especially in the first half, that gave us a lot of opportunities in the circle so I think those were the big things. We had some big defensive saves along the way as well, but not enough to carry us over."

2020-21 Patriot League Spring Field Hockey All-Tournament Team
Kaelyn Long, Bucknell, Sr., D – Most Valuable Player
Erin Zielinski, Bucknell, Jr., D
Kayla Kisthardt, Bucknell, So., M
Clara McCormick, Bucknell, So., GK
Rebecca Janes, Boston University, Jr., M
Kathryn Scheerer, Boston University, Sr, B
Alexis Pettisani, Boston University, Sr., B
Noor Coenen, American Sr., M
Gaby de Kock, American, Sr., F/M
Emily Devine, Holy Cross, Sr., D
Rachel Perry, Holy Cross, So., F

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