Playing in her last home Patriot League game, Caithlin Gorman took advantage of the Senior Day festivities by scoring three goals and one assist to help the Eagles to a 17-6 win over Bucknell on Saturday. The victory improves AU's record to 3-1 in PL play and 7-6 overall.
The match was close in the first half, as each team tried to gain the early momentum. Junior Lauren Aksionoff started the scoring only 1:07 into the game to give the Eagles a quick 1-0 lead.
AU would score four of the first five goals of the game, thanks to tallies by Gorman, Caitlin Bell and Brittany Finnegan to give the Eagles a 4-1 lead at the 14:20 mark.
Bucknell would answer right back with three straight goals of its own to tie the game up at four with two minutes remaining in the first half.
AU was able to take the lead heading into halftime thanks to a Jackie Lane goal with 43 seconds to go to give the Eagles a 5-4 lead entering the locker room.
As close as the game was in the first period of play, it was all Eagles in the second half.
Aksionoff scored her second goal of the match only 19 second after the break to give the Eagles a 6-4 lead. AU would add to this advantage on Gorman's second of the match, as well as a tally by Kira Sonberg to push the lead to 8-4.
The Bison would attempt a comeback, scoring two of the next three goals to cut the lead to 9-6 with 21 minutes left to play but that would be the only offense Bucknell could muster in the period.
Aksionoff's third and final goal of the game at the 18:01 mark would start a commanding 8-0 run by the Eagles to close out the match. Lane and Anne Marie Person each added two goals to the scoreboard during this stretch, while Finnegan, Gorman and Sonberg furthered their contribution as well.
Lane's goal with one second to go would be the icing on the cake for the Eagles as the final whistle sounded to give AU the 17-6 win.
Overall, the Eagles would have eight different players find the back of the net, with Aksionoff, Gorman and Lane leading the way with three goals each.
At 3-1, the Eagles find itself in second place in the Patriot League behind Holy Cross. The Eagles next play non-league foe Longwood at home on Wednesday afternoon before wrapping up its PL schedule on the road against Lehigh on Saturday.
