WASHINGTON –– Five goals from five different goal scorers means the Eagles of the American University field hockey team earned a 5-0 victory over Towson to keep their win streak rolling with six-in-a-row. Junior midfielder Emilia Winkler had a hand in all five goals, earning four assists on the afternoon.

Quick Notables

• American's goal scorers were a trio of juniors– Jordan Reicher, Sophie Willemse, and Elle Ridge–and a pair of freshmen, Ninthe Botman and Lotti Süme. It was Süme's first collegiate goal and Willemse's first of the season.
• Winkler assisted on the goals by Reicher, Willemse, Botman and Süme, and played a key part in the lead up to the goal by Ridge. Fellow junior, Sarah Steinman, also earned an assist on Süme's goal, the fifth goal of the afternoon.
• Reicher has upped her season total to eight goals scored and leads the team with 17 points. This is the most the forward has recorded in either stat in her collegiate career.
• Goalkeeper for the Eagles on the afternoon was freshman Teagan Harmon, who came up big for American with five saves to keep another clean sheet. It's Harmon's first collegiate minutes in the cage and her first clean sheet. It's the Eagles' fifth clean sheet.
• The Eagles have scored in 10 of the last 12 quarters of game play and in the run of six unbeaten games in a row, American has outscored its opponents 17-2 and earned four of its five clean sheets.

How It Happened
In the first period, it was Botman who got the Eagles on the board early. In the third minute, Winkler carrying the ball into the circle off a pass from Willemse and swiped it parallel across goal to an open Botman who put the Eagles up 1-nil to start the game.
 
Winkler, in the 23rd minute, received a pass in the American half of the field, and carried it to the edge of the circle, pushing it ahead to Reicher. The pass drew out Scheenstra, the Tigers' keeper, and Reicher was able to slip it just behind and into the cage to put American up 2-nil before halftime.
 
Coming out of the halftime break, AU would score again in the third period. Willemse would finally get the goal she's been searching for all season off an AU corner. The sweeping shot ricocheted into the cage off Scheenstra's outstretched stick, but there was never any doubt. The Eagles led 3-nil going into the fourth and final frame.
 
Another corner turned goal, Ridge would score off a sweeping shot from Willemse that was angled just wide. Able to corral the ball and spin around to give her defender the slip, Ridge got her second goal of the season. Two minutes later, in the 52nd minute, Steinman would insert a corner, stopped by Winkler, and swept into the cage by Süme to bring the final tally to 5-nil.
 
From Associate Head Coach Matula
"We talked to the group a lot last weekend and this weekend about being the standard of AU hockey, so working on our basics and making sure that we're all communicating together and going together, and I think when we go together as a unit, all together on the same page, we do a really good job of putting teams under a lot of pressure and coming away with a lot of goals.
 
"I think we have a lot of players who are able to go in and do their role, and I think that's the most important thing, that we're not always just relying on one person. I think as a collection, we do a really good job of making sure that we're making the best play possible versus trying to force it.
 
"I think our defense has done a really good job of limiting opportunities for other teams. The goalkeeping unit has done a really good job, both Pauline and Teagan, and I think that's a testament to how much they care and want to make sure there's no opportunity for another team and shutting down in the circle."

Coming Up
The Eagles are finishing up their five-game, D.C. homestand. For game numbers four and five, on Sun., Oct. 12, they'll take on VCU, and the fifth and final home game of this run will be on Fri., Oct. 17 against Bucknell.
 
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American 5,  Towson 0
Scoring: AU – Ninthe Botman (Winkler), 2:38 ; AU – Jordan Reicher (Winkler), 22:23; AU – Sophie Willemse (Winkler), 41:46; AU – Elle Ridge (Willemse), 49:16; AU – Lotti Süme (Winkler) 51:56;
Shots: AU 14 (2/3/5/4), TU 6 (0/3/1/2)
Penalty Corners: AU 8 (2/1/2/3), TU 1 (0/0/0/1)
Goalkeeper Saves: AU 5 (Teagan Harmon, 60:00, 5 saves, 0 goals allowed); TU 4 (Tessa Scheenstra, 60:00, 4 saves, 5 goals allowed)
Records: AU 7-4 (3-0 PL), TU 5-7 (1-0 CAA)