The Washington Capitals shouldn’t get comfortable with their 3-2 series lead. Last year the Caps came from behind to make it out of the first round, so they should know more than anyone that anything can happen.

The AU women’s field hockey team enjoyed a strong season this spring, making it all the way to the NCAA Tournament.

Just under eight minutes into the first period, Andrei Kostitsyn fired a wrist shot past Jose Theodore to put the Washington Capitals down 2-0 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Don’t reach for the panic button just yet. While the Washington Capitals dropped the first game of their series against the Montreal Canadiens, all is not lost and there were certainly a few bright spots.

With the playoffs starting tonight, the questions on some Washingtonians’ minds are, “will this be the Capitals’ year and can they win 16 postseason games to capture the Stanley Cup?” The answer to these questions begins against the Montreal Canadiens. If it is indeed their year, they must get past the Canadiens and here is a look of how the teams matchup.

Friday night was a historic moment for the Washington Capitals franchise. Too bad none of it will mean anything if the team is unable to capture the Stanley Cup.

AU’s women’s field hockey team made significant gains in the offseason. The team earned the third-highest GPA in the nation.

There is a fine line between not wanting the Washington Capitals to win the Presidents’ Trophy — given to the team with the top record in the East — and making sure the team does not collapse down the stretch.

Rookie defenseman John Carlson finally found the back of the net Thursday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, but Washington Capitals fans shouldn’t be surprised if he continues to light the goal lamp.

Carlson was the team’s top prospect heading into the season, but it seemed as if he was several years away from making it to the NHL. He progressed quickly during development camp and was called up by the team in November. While it was only a three-game stint, he showed he could keep up with the speed of the game.

With only nine games left in the season, the Washington Capitals have already found their playoff goalie — and it is not Semyon Varlamov.

Home field advantage was not enough to bring the AU women’s lacrosse team to victory at their first game in the Patriot League Saturday.

The AU men’s basketball team will not make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years.

The Washington Capitals were one of the most active teams during Wednesday’s NHL trade deadline, but they may not be one of the most successful.

Rivalries in sports are developed overtime, with close, physical games and often-embarrassing blowouts. That is, unless the two teams have played each other tough all year and meet in the postseason, like AU and Navy did this year.

The AU women’s lacrosse team defeated Stony Brook University 14-10 on the road to earn their first win of the season.

The Tavern erupted in an explosion of cheering, clapping and chants of “U-S-A” Sunday night, and this time the noise was not for a political election or address. Instead, the students filling the dining area were celebrating Zach Parise’s game-tying goal with 25 seconds left in Sunday’s Olympic gold medal game between the United States and Canada.

The AU men’s track and field team finished fifth overall and the women placed eighth at the Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Monday was the 30-year anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice,” and the United States was treated to its own modern-day miracle when the men’s Olympic hockey team beat Team Canada on Sunday. But in reality, Sunday’s miracle may be bigger than the one 30 years ago.

AU broke two school records, had five top-10 times and captured the 100 back conference championship at the Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championships over the weekend in Annapolis, Md.

AU’s wrestling team lost to No. 25 Old Dominion University 20-15 to extend their losing streak to three in a row, despite victories by seniors Mike Cannon and Kyle Borshoff.

Former AU men’s basketball player Andre Ingram, who graduated in 2007, won the Three-Point Shooting contest Feb. 12 at the NBA D-League Dream Factory, the development league’s equivalent of an All-Star game.

Ingram was the only player selected to represent his team, the Utah Flash, at the third annual Dream Factory. In his first appearance in the D-League competition, Ingram defeated the defending champion Blake Ahearn, of the Bakersfield Jam, by a score of 39-37.

The former Eagle is considered one of the top three-point shooters in the league, according to NBA.com. The Web site said he is known as a three-point specialist and has always been a top long-range shooter.

Despite his success beyond the arc, Ingram had…

With the NHL breaking for the Olympics, there is only one thing to focus on: Team USA’s underdog bid for the gold medal in Vancouver at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

AU Men’s Basketball lost their third straight game Saturday to the Raiders. They also lost Thursday to Bucknell.

All good things must come to an end eventually, and the Washington Capitals franchise record 14-game win streak ended in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens last night.

The loss may be a tough pill to swallow, seeing as the team was only three wins short of tying the NHL record of 17-straight victories. Even though they did not break the record, what this team did cannot be overlooked. It is one of the longest win streaks in recent history and is tied for the third longest in history.

Perhaps more important than the team’s feat were the individual performances. Tom Poti, Jose Theodore, Michal Neuvirth, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin all turned in magnificent stats…

With seven wins in a row after Tuesday’s victory over the New York Islanders, there is no question that the Washington Capitals are the hottest team in hockey, but are they peaking too early?

Calling Wednesday’s win over the Detroit Red Wings a big one would be an understatement, because in reality the victory may be one that pushes the Washington Capitals to the next level and to a place where only the best of the best will be able to beat them.

The world saw what he could do in the playoffs last year and after a slow start this season, Washington Capitals fourth line center David Steckel has finally started to settle into his game.

It is one thing to hold sole position of first place in the NHL’s Eastern Conference. It is another to have earned it by beating one of the conference’s hottest teams with some of your best players out of the lineup.

After a strong 9-6-3 season, the AU men’s soccer team lost to the Bucknell University Bison 1-0 in the Patriot League Championship game.

AU field hockey’s season ended in defeat Saturday, falling to top seeded University of Maryland 6-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Head Coach Matt Corkery announced that AU has signed three recruits to the 2010-11 roster Wednesday.

AU wrestling was victorious at the Clarion Open over the weekend, with three of their athletes placing in the top two for their weight class.

It is only fitting that the Patriot League Women’s Soccer Championship between AU and Colgate University ended in double overtime, but much like the last double-overtime game between these two schools, AU was on the losing side with a final score of 1-0.

Amid one of the most successful fall seasons in AU sports history, Athletic Director Keith Gill has seen significant growth in the athletic community and sees even more coming in the future.

Despite the close calls and sloppy plays, the Washington Capitals have to be happy with their last four games, especially since a win is a win no matter what.

Despite losing to the College of William and Mary, the AU volleyball team is more concerned with their next match against Army at West Point on Friday. The Black Knights are AU’s biggest rival and toughest competition in the Patriot League. A loss to them could all but destroy any hopes of winning this year’s Patriot League title.

AU women’s soccer holds sole possession of the top spot in the Patriot League with a 2-0 win over conference rival Holy Cross Friday at their Phil Reeves event.

AU junior Hannah Weitzman picked up her first career victory and sophomore Melissa Casale had two goals in the field hockey team’s 5-1 win over Colgate University Saturday.

After three games this season we know one thing for sure, the Washington Capitals can certainly score goals.

The wait is finally over, as hockey season is finally here, with the Capitals facing off against the Boston Bruins tonight at 7:00 p.m.

AU’s women’s soccer fell to Robert Morris University 1-0 Sunday, to carry on their trend of being unable to win the close games.

The first half of each game has been a killer for the Lady Eagles, as they have rarely taken the lead early in games. Even in their blowout win over Towson, they didn’t take command of the game until the second half, when they scored six goals en route to an 8-1 win. From watching their play, it is clear they are unable to keep their concentration earlier.

AU field hockey had a strong weekend, winning their games against Towson University on Saturday, 8-1 and Sunday against Penn State University, 3-1.

After a second round playoff exit, the Washington Capitals look to their experienced youth to get them back to the playoffs.

The men’s soccer team struggled this weekend, losing to Princeton University 3-0 and Monmouth University by the same score.

AU women’s soccer continued to roll through non-conference play on Sunday with a 1-0 win over Radford University.

Two AU soccer players were honored for different awards last week; Cooper Bryant was the BRINE Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week and Daniel Shannon was the AU Student-Athlete of the Week. Both players played important roles in AU’s wins over George Washington University and George Mason University in the D.C. College Cup. Bryant recorded one shot on goal in both games but had several key defensive stops, while Shannon had three shots as well as three goals.

While the women have had some surprise success this year, there has been more vindication for the men. Men’s soccer had a strong season last year, finishing 9-7-3, but was unable to advance past Holy Cross in the Patriot League semifinals. This year, the team has shown it can compete with the best teams, beating No. 19 George Mason in the D.C. Cup. After the victory, Soccer America voted the Eagles as the 23rd best team in the country.

Ballston, Va. has been invaded; the small Virginia neighborhood is housing over 70 NHL players from Russia, Sweden, Finland and Canada for Washington Capitals training camp. Camp started Sept. 6 for the rookies, with the veterans joining them Sept. 13. This year’s camp is particularly important for the Caps, as they have several new faces and many positions to fill. The team is looking to improve on their Southeast Division Championship season that landed them in the second round of the playoffs.

Field hockey team members Christine Fingerhuth, Anne van Erp and Alyssa Poorman were named Patriot League players of the week on Monday. Each player earned the award for their respective position.

With the clock ticking away in overtime, AU defender Mikalia Weaver took a redirect in the penalty box and tapped it past the Bryant University keeper for a 2-1 victory.

AU field hockey won their second game of the season 2-1 over their yearly rival Richmond University.

Defense was key for the Lady Eagles as they limited Richmond to only six shots, of which only two made to goalie Alyssa Poorman. On top of their tight defense, AU was able to generate the most offense they have all season. The control was not limited to just one period either as they had 10 shots in the first period and seven in the second.

“Our team played extremely well today,” Head Coach Steve Jennings told AU athletics. “We played excellent hockey this afternoon and look forward to continuing that success on the practice field this week and throughout the…

AU’s field hockey team will start the season tied for 14th with Boston College in the 2009 Kookbaurra/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I Preseason Poll.

AU’s assistant track and field coach Julie Culley will be representing the United States at the 12th IAAF World Track and Field Championships in Berlin, Germany.

The third-year assistant coach qualified for the world championships in July at the 2009 Metting International d’athletisme de la Provience de Liege in Belgium. She did it with a personal best time of 15:21.87 in the 5,000 meter. It is Culley’s first appearance in a world championship event.

“I’m extremely excited about competing on one of our sport’s grandest stages,” Culley said in a press release from AU Athletics.

The championships will be the largest stage she has been on since returning from a three-year hiatus from track. After graduating from Rutgers University, the…

There’s lots to look for in AU’s sports teams this fall.