COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Even without its leading scorer, the AU field hockey team still finds a way to win.
The Eagles remained unbeaten this season by winning their fifth and sixth straight games over Pac-10 foes Stanford and Cal this weekend at the Terrapin Invitational hosted by the University of Maryland.
Both wins came without All-American midfielder Camila Infante who participated with the U21 Chilean National team in the Junior World Cup.
Infante has five goals and 14 points on the year, but the Eagles made do without her this weekend.
Head coach Steve Jennings said he knew Infante's absence affected the game, but was pleased with his team's reaction.
"Well I definitely think it made a big difference simply because she's such a dominant player and also because that's been the norm now for the past two seasons that she's been in that spot," Jennings said, "but Heather [Maranzano] and Shannon [Goans] are both experienced midfielders so we knew that they would be just fine."
In AU's first game it defeated Stanford 1-0 in a tightly contested defensive battle.
After a scoreless first half where the Eagles outshot the Cardinal 5-2, AU scored the only goal in the 43rd minute when attacker Irene Shickhardt blasted a shot that slipped past Cardinal goalkeeper Madison Bell for her third goal of the season.
Stanford pressed offensively after the AU goal and recorded five shots in the second frame, but the Eagle defense proved too much for the Cardinal. Eagle goalkeeper Allison Fayfich notched two saves for her first shutout of the season.
Head coach Steve Jennings said he did not have a chance to scout Stanford play prior to Saturday's contest, but knew they played a difficult schedule.
"We knew Stanford was a very good team," Jennings said. "We were lucky to be able to get by today."
AU's win dropped the Cardinal to 1-6 on the year.
On the second day of play, AU scored three second half goals to defeat the California Golden Bears, 3-1.
The Eagles overcame an early 1-0 hole caused by Cal's Chilly Banuelos's goal in the third minute of play.
In the second frame, AU's Denise Infante tied it up with an unassisted goal off a rebound from a penalty corner in the 48th minute.
Senior captain Maureen Daniel scored what turned out the game-winner at 55:50 when she converted a penalty corner, passing Cal goalkeeper Veronica Sykes for her third goal of the season. Maranzano and Shickhardt were credited with the assists.
Cal continued to attack, firing five shots in the second half, but AU's defense absorbed every scoring opportunity.
Daniel then added her second goal of the match at 68:41 when AU converted their second penalty corner.
Eagle goalie Fayfich notched four saves in the win.
Now, three weeks into the season, the Eagles have a chance to assess their progress so far
"I think it's a great weekend for us," Jennings said. "I'm glad in a lot of ways that we got pushed. I always like to have an easy game to show that we're totally another level above a team, but to get two wins in this tournament against two Pac-10 teams is really great for us and we look forward to just building momentum from there."
The undefeated Eagles will play Towson next Sunday at home.
