After 70 minutes of impressive ball handling paired with solid defense, AU Field Hockey defeated the Lafayette University Leopards 2-0 to clinch their seventh consecutive Patriot League Championship.
Saturday’s win came on the heels of the Eagle’s 7-1 victory over Lehigh University in the semifinal round the previous day.
The match against Lafayette was a rematch of a game AU lost during conference play. With this loss in the back of his mind, AU Head Coach Steve Jennings challenged his team to focus on the future.
“I think if you are only focusing on revenge then it gets really difficult,” Jennings said. “We focused on what we needed to do and made adjustments based on our performance [on Friday]. Fortunately, we were good enough to get it done today.”
Sticks battled early on as both teams attempted to control the game’s momentum. Christine Fingerhuth, Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, came out strong and generated the Eagles’ first scoring opportunity early in the half. Despite three consecutive shots on goal, the Leopard defense held strong.
On AU’s half of the field, sophomore Tatum Dyer denied many Leopard attacks, effectively clearing the ball up the field to teammates. Dyer and the rest of the Eagle defensive were successful in protecting the goal throughout the first half of play, causing AU goalie Alyssa Poorman to only make a single save.
Possession of the ball continued to shift between the two teams throughout the first half. It was not until the final minute before halftime that AU’s consistent attacks paid off. After a penalty corner skimmed just wide of the Leopard’s goal, Fingerhuth gained possession of the ball and drilled it passed Lafayette goalie Kelsey Andersen. The goal gave AU a 1-0 advantage heading into the second half.
During the second half of play, the Eagles fought for the ball with new aggression. Continuous pressure resulted in a second goal for the home team in the 27th minute. Freshman Melissa Casale capitalized on a pass from teammate Savannah Graybill to extend AU’s lead with a crisp shot into the goal.
Yellow cards against Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Anne-Meike DeWiljes and junior Shay Smith gave the Leopards a one-player advantage for most of the second half. The Eagles stepped up to the challenge and responded with increased defense on both occasions.
Lafayette was unable to capitalize on two consecutive penalty corners and the team finished the game with only two shots on goal.
“I would say the key to the win was discipline in the game plan and a balance between being hard when we needed to be,” Jennings said after the win. “I think we were balanced in a lot of different ways, and that made it really difficult for our opponents today.”
In addition to winning the Patriot League Championship, four players were recognized as All-Tournament Team Members and DeWiljes was named Tournament MVP.
Although proud of the win, senior Dewiljes is not ready to retire her stick quite yet.
“Right now [winning the Championship] is the highlight, but I don’t want this to be the highlight,” Dewiljes said. “This is not the end of my senior year.”
The Eagles will face the Northeast conference champions this coming Tuesday at Jacobs Field. Whoever emerges from the match victorious will continue on to the NCAA Championship Tournament.
You can reach this writer at sports@theeagleonline.com.
