WASHINGTON – For the first time in two years, the American University lacrosse team is set to kick off a full 17-game slate as the Eagles sit just under two weeks away from their 2022 opener.
 
American returns 22 players from the 2021 squad, including four fifth years and the eight-player senior class.
 
SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS

• American will open the season at home with two of its seven games at Jacobs Complex. First up is crosstown rival Georgetown on February 12 followed by UMBC on Feb. 19.
• The Eagles will stay local over the next three games with visits to George Mason (Feb. 23), Howard (Feb. 26), and George Washington (March 2) before returning home to face Gardner-Webb on March 5.
• The Patriot League season will kick off at Lafayette on March 19, followed by the first of four home PL contests with Holy Cross on March 26.
• American will also host defending Patriot League Champion Loyola Maryland on April 13 followed by Bucknell on April 16 and Colgate on April 23.
• The Eagles will close their regular season at Boston University on April 29. 

RECORD BOOK DOMINANCE

• Senior Emma Vinall will look to continue gapping the field in the program record books this season as she returns for a fifth year with a pair of AU lacrosse records already in-hand after she reached her 163rd goal and 188th point in 2021.
• Vinall comes into the season with a third career record in sight as she sits only 14 draw controls away from surpassing Emily Maher's (2011-14) record of 188.
• The program's first All-American in 2020 and the first Eagle since 2013 to be voted onto the First Team All-Patriot League last season, Vinall closed last season ranked seventh among active Division I players for career scoring average (3.62), and 14th for points per game (4.18).
• She also returns as one of the most dangerous players in the country from free position, shooting 83.3 percent (10-12) last year to rank third in Division I.

THE FIFTH YEARS

• The Eagles return a wealth of experience to the 2022 roster, highlighted by four fifth-year seniors with Emma Vinall, Kendall Goldblum, Sarah Boney, and Cate Golden.
• While Vinall has been a force on AU's attack line, Goldblum has been a leader in the midfield throughout her career. With 89 goals and 110 points in her career she will look to join Vinall in the program's all-time top five lists. The Wilmington, N.C., native needs 30 goals and 58 points to join the elite group of AU players in each category.
• Goldblum has also been one of the primary draw control specialists for the squad and ranks just behind Vinall with 150 throughout her career.
• Boney and Golden have both been leaders on the defensive end throughout their careers. Boney comes into the season after leading the team last year in both caused turnovers (9) and ground balls (14).

THE SENIORS

• Eight seniors also highlight the returning Eagles' squad, including four starters from last season with defenders Haley Harkins and Ashley Go, and midfielders Katie Pierce and Stefanie Walsh.
• Pierce and Go were both key elements in AU's defensive efforts last year. They tied for third on the team with 10 ground balls each while Go ranked second with her eight caused turnovers followed by Pierce with seven.
• Sophie Ossip, Jennifer Schaen, Morgan Schaen, and Hali Sibilia round out the 2022 senior class.
• Sibilia closed last season with eight points and five goals, including two against Bucknell and Navy.

LOST & FOUND

• With the graduation of Casey Harkins and Erica Skowron, American lost two of its top three scorers from last year. But the Eagles still return 62 of their 93 goals from the shortened eight-game slate, including leading scorer Vinall and Goldblum, who ranked fourth with 10 goals in her six games.
• AU also brings back 95 of its 120 ground balls, 52 of its 58 caused turnovers, and all but six of its 117 draw controls.

NEW FACES

• American welcomes 13 players to its 2022 squad, including 11 freshmen and two sophomore transfers with midfielder Olivia Molfetta (Oberlin) and goalkeeper Mary Alice Collins (Villanova).
• The 11-player class of 2025 comes to D.C. from six states and features the team's second set of twins with attackers Jaime and Kate Petronis (Sherwood/Olney, Md.). Joining them are fellow-attackers Alyssa Apuzzo (West Babylon/West Babylon, N.Y.), Ashley Smith (Chatham/Chatham, N.J.), and Maddy Spratt (Pennsbury/Yardley, Pa.); midfielders Alyssa Nilles (Maine South/Park Ridge, Ill.), Becca Frank (The Park School of Baltimore/Baltimore, Md.), and Juliet Kuenzler (Harborfields/Centerport, N.Y.); defenders Jenna Walls (Haddonfield Memorial/Haddonfield, N.J.) and Darby Sherrod (Arapahoe, Centennial, Colo.); and goalkeeper Lexi Rakis (Our Lady of Good Counsel/Olney, Md.). 

YEAR TWO UNDER COACH TEETERS

• Head coach Lindsay Teeters returns to the helm of the Eagles for the second season after being tapped to lead the program on June 9, 2020.
• Teeters was a two-time All-American for Boston University from 2002-06 and brought 13 years of experience with her. She saw some early success in her first season, despite the shortened eight-game slate, including a pair of All-Patriot League selections with Emma Vinall and Casey Harkins.
• She will be joined by first-year assistant coaches Mary Heneberry Eames and Hailey Dobbins.

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