Women's soccer ties Army
The AU Women's Soccer team ended its two-game losing streak, tying the Army Black Knights, 2-2, at West Point, N.Y., on Saturday.
The Eagles were led by leading scorer Marcela Ricupero, who scored both of the Eagles' goals in the second half to bring AU back from an early deficit. Ricupero's first goal came in the 64th minute off a pass from Jana Lee.
The Eagles played a tight defensive game, keeping the Knights in check throughout the rest of the half until Ricupero struck again 10 minutes later on an assist from Junior Meg Runeari.
In overtime, the Eagles played conservatively. The only shot of the extra period was saved by AU goaltender Alison Doyle, who had seven saves on the day.
Army came out of the locker room sharp from the beginning and physically dominated the Eagles, outshooting them, 30-10. But by salvaging the tie, the Eagles may be able to enter the Patriot League tournament with some momentum.
With her two goals , Ricupero finished the season as the league leader, with 16 goals and 32 points in 18 games.
AU finished its regular season with an 11-5-2 record, 4-2-1 in league play. It enters the tournament as the third seed, behind Colgate and Lehigh. The Eagles will face Lehigh in the semifinals of the PL Tournamen at Colgate on Friday.
-JESSE EPSTEIN
Volleyball continues PL dominance
The AU Volleyball team made its biggest statement of the Patriot League season by crushing Holy Cross on Friday and coming back Saturday with a hard-earned road victory over second-place Army.
The wins improved the Eagles' PL record to 10-0. They close the regular season with four straight PL matches at Bender Arena.
Senior Natacha Cornaz and junior Cuttrina Biddulph carried the Eagles to a smooth 3-0 sweep of Holy Cross. Each contributed 10 kills while helping the Eagles to a .292 hitting percentage, compared with a .052 hitting percentage for Holy Cross.
The story of the weekend, though, occured when the Eagles traveled into West Point, N.Y., for a showdown with Army, which was coming off a sweep of Navy the night before.
In Game 1, the Eagles whipped the Black Nights, 30-17, on the strength of a .422 hitting percentage. Army rebounded in Game 2 with a 30-26 win to even things up.
Army seemed poised to upset the Eagles for the first time in four years of PL play. But the Black Knights couldn't keep up.
The Eagles defense stifled Army into a .000 hitting percentage in the third game and won handily, 30-19. Game 4 was much of the same. The Eagles won, 30-24, to squelch Army and virtually secure their spot atop the PL regular season.
Cornaz had another outstanding night as she recorded 12 kills and 21 digs. AU's defense was outstanding too, with seniors Jennifer Cosco and Sabrina Vasconcelos making 13 and 14 digs, respectively.
Senior Erin Algaier led the Eagles' offense with 16 kills. Freshman Chelsa Brooks had 14 and Biddulph had 12.
The Eagles return Bender Friday and Saturday against Bucknell and Colgate at 7:30 p.m.
-PHIL TURNER
