Fresh off a win against Brown University on Friday, the AU field hockey team entered its match against Appalachian State University with momentum and soared to a definitive 5-1 victory on Sunday afternoon at Jacobs Field.
The Eagles built off strong play from their freshman class to outshoot the Mountaineers 20-10. Junior forward Natalie Konerth said the younger players have been instrumental in allowing the team to grow and learn new playing styles.
“They’ve all been bringing something new and adding to our team, and that’s been really great,” Konerth said. “They’re all giving something that we can take and just kind of learning from everyone and incorporating a bunch of different styles.”
Konerth, who notched a goal and an assist, leads the team in points but is followed closely by freshman forward Rafaela Rubas, who also recorded a goal and an assist of her own.
“I think the freshmen have been contributing to our culture in a really positive way, and I think a great credit to all of the returners because they know that in order for us to be the strongest team, we need to incorporate everybody and they’ve done a fantastic job so it’s really been very seamless, the transition,” head coach Steve Jennings said.
Three freshmen started for the Eagles against App State, and freshman midfielder Lucy Whalley scored AU’s first goal when she flipped the ball past Mountaineer senior goalkeeper Cristina Ceppi. The Mountaineers attempted to stay even with AU, tallying seven shots on goal in the first 35 minutes, but Eagles senior goalkeeper Kate McBeath kicked the ball away each time. With three minutes to go before the end of the half, sophomore forward Sophia Crawshay added AU’s second goal off a pass from sophomore midfielder Samantha McCormick.
AU’s young players continued to shine in the second half, and Rubas scored her fourth goal of the season with a tip off a pass from Konerth. Senior midfielder Jess Davis also added a goal for the Eagles with twenty minutes remaining in the game when she found a loose ball in front of the net and slid a shot past Ceppi. The Eagles doubled their shots on goal in the second half, and Konerth said team chemistry allowed for the second half success.
“I think we just really used each other and played as a team the second half and then were able to execute on the opportunities that we had because we had opportunities first half, but we weren’t able to finish them, and second half we took care of that,” Konerth said.
Senior Caroline Phillips recorded the lone goal for the Mountaineers in the 66th minute.
The Eagles take on Yale University next weekend at home for the first annual Field Hockey District Day, and Jennings said he hopes the team will continue to build upon its wins and improve as the schedule grows more difficult.
“I think anytime you win it gives you some confidence, you know you’re doing things in a way that’s good enough to be successful, but we know it’s one game at a time” Jennings said. “So we have to get ready for Yale this weekend, and that will be a big tough challenge too, and we just want to keep growing each week, each game, as we go through the year. I feel like we took some very positive steps, and we’ll try to continue that next week.”
sscovel@theeagleonline.com
