On Tuesday, the AU Women's Soccer team continued its best season start in history, dropping host George Washington, 1-0, on a late first-half goal from senior forward Marcela Ricupero.
The Eagles (8-1-1 overall) haven't lost since their second match of the season on Sept. 4, going 7-0-1 in that stretch.
Ricupero, who scored her third game-winning goal of the year, has been every bit as hot as her team, scoring nine goals in the team's 10 matches.
"She's one short of a goal a game," said AU head coach Michael Brady. "That's huge to be putting up those numbers, especially in games we are winning 1-0 or 2-1."
Ricupero shows a killer instinct in the final third that few have been able to match. In Tuesday's affair - a scrappy, sometimes sloppy and rain-soaked match - her instincts paid high dividends.
Ricupero's goal came somewhat against the run of play in the 43rd minute, off freshman Annette Scott's free kick from the right wing.
Somehow, Ricupero reached Scott's low whipped-in kick and blasted it straight at GW 'keeper Anna Handzlik, who saved the initial shot but couldn't hold the slick ball. Ricupero tracked down her own rebound, and this time slotted a delicate ball past Handzlik instead of powering it at her.
"I struck it too hard," Ricupero said of her first shot. "I thought it was the wrong decision."
But because of the wet weather, Brady instructed Ricupero and her fellow forwards to follow every shot to pounce on any rebounds, she said. And the advice paid off.
While the Eagles had both literally and figuratively weathered the storm in the first half, they gained possession and a few more dangerous chances in the second half. But for both teams, chances and open spaces were hard to find.
In total, the Eagles only registered four shots on goal, including two for Ricupero's first shot and rebound. The Colonials weren't much better, only registering five shots on goal, none from the close range where Ricupero scored.
In the end, it wasn't aesthetically pleasing, but it was a day to be proud of unsung heroes, most notably the effort of the back four - junior Lena Winkler, sophomore Meg Runeari, and freshmen Scott and Jessica Buquiccio.
"I thought the team defense was magnificent today," Brady said, who also conceded that the Colonials did have the momentum in the minutes before AU's goal. "And in the second half, we showed signs of the quality soccer we can play."
Ricupero said that the team's record "is really good right now, but we can still play at a higher level. Our energy level starting off games is one thing we need to improve on."
While all the rhetoric is well and good, the Eagles' next two opponents should test whether the Eagles will step up to that level.
In the distance, a rematch of last year's Patriot League championship with Navy looms on Tuesday. But before that, Colgate, who beat the defending champion Midshipmen Saturday, will come to Reeves with heaps of momentum to try and take a commanding lead in the PL.
"It's going to be a battle royale," Brady said. "They would like to go 3-0. It would put them in unbelievable shape to host the tournament. And nobody wants to go to Colgate in early (November)."
The red-hot Eagles have other ideas.
