After a regular season that saw it perfect in Patriot League play and ranked No. 7 in the country, the AU Women's Field Hockey team now turns its attention to the Patriot League tournament.
The team enters this weekend's tournament with an overall record of 16-2-0 and a 5-0-0 record in PL play. It enters as the No. 1 seed and will play Lehigh in the opening game on Saturday. A win would guarantee the Eagles a spot in the championship game against the winner of Saturday's Holy Cross vs. Colgate match.
With his team riding a 14-game winning streak into the tournament, head coach Steve Jennings said that the team is better prepared than ever to win the title.
"I think we're really excited and we have a lot of momentum," Jennings said. "Hopefully we'll play two good games and come out of there with the title."
The Eagles' season has been one full of excitement and new highs for a team that made its first NCAA tournament appearance last year. Led by sophomores Camila Infante and Heidi Hershberger and anchored by sophomore goaltender Allison Fayfich, the team has knocked off national powerhouses Maryland and Syracuse en route to its No. 7 ranking.
The team has also received strong performances from freshmen Maggie Hall and Denise Infante. While starting in all 18 regular-season games this season, Hall has netted a hat trick in two different games. Infante has matched the intensity level of her sister Camila by scoring nine goals and adding three assists in 10 games for the team this season.
With the freshmen making such strong contributions, Jennings said that the team is ready to go out and attack any opponent.
"The contributions we've received from our freshmen has been extremely significant," Jennings said. "They've given us a lot of offensive production, and their overall ability and attitude in practice sessions has intensified our play and made us better."
The season began slowly for the Eagles, with two of their toughest games coming in the first two weeks. The Eagles lost first to the University of Connecticut and then against the University of North Carolina. Currently UConn is ranked No. 6 in the country while UNC is ranked No. 2.
With the Eagles only losses of the season coming against teams that are ranked higher than them nationally, Jennings said that the Eagles are ready to compete nationally against anyone.
"I think we were able to learn a significant amount from those early losses," Jennings said. "We took what we learned and put it into play immediately, and it has been a critical component of our success this season."
Winning the PL tournament this weekend would guarantee a spot in the upcoming NCAA tournament. The NCAA Field Hockey tournament features 17 teams with one team, gaining entrance through a play-in game. Last year the Eagles defeated Quinnipiac, 4-1, in the play-in game before losing to No. 2 Duke in the opening round.
With all the hype about the team going on nationally, Jennings said that his team is ready to just go out there and play.
"I think we're in a great position too if we don't have a slip-up to get a high seed," Jennings said. "That would give us a great opportunity to make the Final Four"
