The No. 10 AU Field Hockey team received a scare Wednesday, but ultimately fought off what looked on paper to be an unimposing James Madison team, 4-3.
New addition Denise Infante scored twice to lead the Eagles (8-2-0) to victory over the Dukes (2-9-0) on the University of Maryland field, AU's home away from home in College Park, Md.
Infante opened the scoring just 2:40 into the match, scoring on an unassisted breakaway. She would close the AU offensive effort more than 60 minutes later when she got hold of a rebound and slapped the ball into an open net.
Infante's pair of goals sandwiched scores from junior defender Maureen Daniel and sophomore forward Heidi Hershberger.
Daniel's goal, assisted by junior midfielder Heather Maranzano and sophomore forward Camilia Infante - Denise's older sister - came off a penalty corner in the closing seconds of the first half, and broke a 1-1 deadlock.
Hershberger's goal, also assisted by the older Infante, came just two minutes into the second half and doubled the AU lead.
JMU's Baillie Versfeld tied the match 1-1, only a minute before Daniel again put the Eagles ahead.
After Hershberger's goal put AU ahead 3-1, JMU pulled a goal back through Lauren Stefaniak's goal with 15 minutes remaining, before Denise Infante's second goal sealed the Dukes' fate.
With less than three minutes to play, Amy DeCecco scored a consolation goal for JMU, pushing the final result to 4-3.
AU returns to action Saturday and Sunday with a battle against Patriot League foe Lafayette followed by a test against No. 3 Maryland. Both games will be played on the Terps' home field.
