AU Eagles field hockey brought excitement to the William I. Jacobs Recreational Complex this weekend, beginning with a sudden death victory win in Friday's game against the Virginia Commonwealth Rams, and ending in a 3-2 success against the Princeton Tigers on Sunday.
In the Friday kickoff, VCU and the Eagles were neck and neck the entire game. Eleven minutes into overtime, AU scored and brought the team's record to 3-0. However, the Rams gave the Eagles many chances to tally points, allowing a total of 18 shots on goal, a majority of which came from senior Denise Infante and rookie teammate Christine Fingerhuth. The women played a hard game, and at the end of the second half it looked as if the game was going to come to an end without the help of overtime.
Midfielder Megan Henry earned the Eagles a penalty corner with one minute remaining.Junior Irene Schickhardt set the ball up perfectly with a shot to freshman Fingerhuth from the top of the circle. Fingerhuth sent the ball flying to teammate Schickhardt, who was there for the deflection, but narrowly missed the goal. It was clear from the play that AU was in full force and ready to carry its energy into overtime.
With only six field players on the turf from each team and two goalkeepers, it looked as if it could be anyone's game. However, with four minutes remaining in the first overtime, the Eagles broke through. Team captain Maggie Hall took the length of the field, forcing VCU to give up another penalty corner. The shot was set up perfectly between teammates Schickhardt and Fingerhuth, but much to the team's dismay, it was just shy of the goal.
Soon after, with 80:57 on the clock, power player Infante came through with a breakaway. With speed and impressive stick work, Infante was able to cut through the Rams' defenders and send the ball flying from the top of the circle for the win.
The Eagles only let one shot near its goal in all of the nearly 81-minute game, giving goalie Alyssa Poorman her second shutout of the season.
When asked about Poorman's season, Coach Steve Jennings responded, "Alyssa gained a lot of confidence stepping into this season."
The women continued their winning streak in Sunday's game against Princeton. Princeton and AU started off the game goal for goal, beginning with the Tigers registering the team's first goal of the game only 13 minutes into the first half. Five minutes later, Fingerhuth maneuvered the ball around Tiger defenders and scored an unassisted goal. Tigers didn't keep the score tied for long - with 19:54 on the clock, Princeton shot again, bringing the score to 2-1. Princeton remained in the lead, going into halftime with its one-point advantage.
"I ripped them," Jennings said of his talk to the women at the half. "We were getting embarrassed out there on our own turf."
However, the embarrassment didn't last long. Sophomore Savannah Graybill scored with 49:48 on the clock. AU kept the lead and finished the game off when, in the final minute, Infante tallied another goal, bringing the final score of the day to 3-2 Eagles.
The now No. 12 Eagles will face Ohio State this weekend.
