WASHINGTON - Eleven players scored, including four freshmen, as the American University lacrosse team (2-2) dismantled Howard on Saturday, 16-3.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Freshman Alyssa Apuzzo led with her first goals and first hat trick of her career, scoring three alongside her two assists for five points.
• Freshman Maddy Spratt led AU's overall offensive effort with six points off a pair of goals and four assists while classmate Becca Frank also added her first two goals as an Eagle along with one assist.
• Junior Emma Hare added two more goals while seven more Eagles had one each, including freshman Ashley Smith with her first career goal.
• Eight Eagles also closed with assists, starting with the four from Spratt and two from Apuzzo.
• Senior Stefanie Walsh and junior Sydney Wender led in the midfield with two ground balls each while freshman Jenna Walls added two caused turnovers.
• Helena Morrison and Lexi Rakis split the game in goal. Morrison closed with one save while Rakis pulled down two. Rakis also picked up a pair of ground balls and led the team with three caused turnovers.
• Taylor Matthews, Josie Mallory, and Quai Skeete-Ridley added a goal each for the Bison while Anya Waller pulled down eight saves in her 60 minutes.
• American absolutely dominated, posting 27 shots to Howard's 10, including a 24-6 edge in shots on goal. The Eagles also led in ground balls, 11-5, and gave up only 10 miscues to 15 from the Bison.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• American was firing on all cylinders from the start, posting eight unanswered goals in the first quarter, including two each from Spratt and Apuzzo.
• Howard found the back of the net with just under six minutes remaining in the stanza to bring the score to 8-1 - a tally that held through the end of the first quarter.
• American held the Bison scoreless during the second quarter, posting five unanswered goals to enter halftime with a 13-1 lead.
• Apuzzo completed her hat trick with the first and only goal of the third quarter.
• Howard was the first to get on the board in the fourth but Smith and Frank had the response with a goal each to give AU a 14-point lead at 16-2. 
• With just under two minutes left in the game, Howard closed the day's scoring with their third and final goal of the day.

NEXT UP

• American will continue its stretch of local games on Wednesday with a 3 p.m. start at George Washington before returning home to host Gardner-Webb at Jacobs Complex on Saturday, March 5 (3 p.m.).

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