Maddy Spratt celebrates after scoring a goal against Georgetown.
Scott Fields
14
Winner AMERICAN AMERICAN 1-1
9
Howard HOW 0-2
Winner
AMERICAN AMERICAN
1-1
14
Final
9
Howard HOW
0-2
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
AMERICAN AMERICAN 5 3 4 2 14
Howard HOW 1 2 1 5 9

Game Recap: Lacrosse |

Lacrosse Takes an Early Lead, Soars to Victory Over Howard

WASHINGTON – The American University lacrosse team traveled four miles across town to take on Howard in an afternoon matchup. The Eagles jumped out to an early 5-1 lead through one frame and held onto their advantage for the remainder of the contest, downing the Bison 14-9.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
  • Senior Hannah Spease and junior Maddy Spratt were the two Eagles who netted multiple goals on Wednesday afternoon. Spease tallied a hat trick while Spratt finished the day with a brace. Spease also managed to pick up four ground balls and six draw controls while Spratt had one ground ball and two draw controls as well as two assists.
  • First collegiate goals came from Rachel Ward, Nickie Prendergast, and Elly Skeels. Ward and Skeels are first years who made their first collegiate appearances for the Eagles as well.
  • Jasmine Connor, Annabelle Jackson, Lizzie De Guzman, Becca Frank, and Reagan Murdoch all finished off the afternoon with a goal apiece. It was Connor's second goal of the season, Frank's third, and Murdoch's fifth after a prolific outing against Georgetown.
  • Frank also added two assists for a four point total in the game.
  • Junior goalkeeper Caleigh Forti saved fifteen of the 24 shots sent her way for a .625 save percentage. 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Frank won the opening draw control but on their first two possessions American was unable to mount an effective offensive attempt. In between those two AU possessions, Howard managed to get on the board first, going up 1-nil in the third minute of the contest. The Bison had an athlete advantage for the goal while Kellie Linehan was out with a green card.
  • It would be Frank that started the scoring for the Eagles on the afternoon. Her goal in the sixth minute sparked the squad into a five goal frenzy.
  • AU scored five unanswered goals in a row to end the first thanks to efforts from Connor, Spratt, Jackson, and Ward.
  • Only 18 seconds into the second period, the Bison were able to pull one goal back and narrow the difference before they scored again with 8:20 to go before the halftime break to make the score 5-3 with AU in the lead. This was the closest HU would get to American for the rest of the game.
  • That two-goal run by the Bison was stymied by Spease when she cut straight through the defense to net her first goal of the afternoon with 7:14 left to play before halftime.
  • A second goal from Spratt and a first goal of the game from Apuzzo had the Eagles riding a five-goal, 8-3, lead into the halftime break.
  • Coming out of halftime, Spease grabbed her brace just over a minute into the third period. The senior dodged a cut across to get the drop on the Bison goalkeeper and extend the lead.
  • A cluster in front of the goal resulted in Murdoch picking up the ball steps from the net before she dropped the ball in to push the Eagles' lead to 10-3 with 9:30 to play in the quarter. She was followed by goals Spease, who was now on a hat trick, and a season-opening goal from De Guzman to push the score to a 12-4 AU lead with one quarter left to play.
  • Two minutes into the final frame, Prendergast cut straight through the Bison defense to grab her first collegiate goal by dropping the ball into the net over the HU goalkeeper's reach.
  • The Bison weren't going away though, and Howard tallied their sixth goal with a little over three minutes left in the game, the gap between the two teams at six goals, AU up 13-7.
  • Skeels was the final Eagle to get on the board for the squad on the afternoon, notching her first collegiate goal with 2:24 to play.
  • Howard scored their eighth and ninth goal with 1:44 and a minute later with 0:45 left in the game, but the five goal deficit would be too much to mount a comeback and the Eagles ended up taking the dominant, 14-9 victory for the afternoon. 
NEXT UP
The squad will be at home this week, hosting Patriot League reigning champions, the Hounds of Loyola Maryland. The game will be on Friday, Feb. 16, scheduled to start at 1 p.m. at Jacobs Complex.
 
KEEP UP WITH US
For the latest on American University lacrosse, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@au_lacrosse) and Instagram (@au_wlax).
 
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