The AU field hockey team traveled to upstate New York over the weekend, holding on for a close 4-3 victory over Patriot League rival Colgate but falling to the University of Albany in a 1-0 defensive battle.
Fresh off their first home loss in almost a year on Sept. 24 against Richmond, the Eagles went into Saturday's game at Colgate hungry for a win in their first PL game. The AU defense dominated the first half, not allowing Colgate to take a shot on goal.
The game remained scoreless until senior forward Heidi Hershberger slammed in a rebound with 8:35 left in the half. Under seven minutes later, Denise Infante scored a goal off of a penalty corner to put AU up 2-0. Camila Infante scored just over a minute later, sending the Eagles into halftime in control of the game.
Although the Eagles dominated the first half, Colgate came out of halftime determined to get back in the game. Katelyn Nerbonne got the Raiders on the board 10 minutes into the half. Just 18 seconds later, Nerbonne broke in alone and beat AU goalie Alison Fayfich on the right side to bring Colgate within a goal.
However, AU recovered from the Colgate offensive outburst. Denise Infante scored her second goal of the game off of a penalty corner to put the Eagles up 4-2 with under 23 minutes remaining.
Nerbonne cut the lead to one with her third goal of the game, but the Eagles managed to hold on over the final 10 minutes to preserve the victory.
The AU defense had another good showing on Sunday at Albany, but the Eagles couldn't solve goalie Ashley Ross, who made ten saves to record the shutout. Albany's Vanessa Walter scored the only goal of the game, putting in a rebound with 10 minutes remaining.
Although they lost, the Eagles dominated the game statistically, outshooting Albany 15-10 (including an 11-5 advantage in the second half) and holding a 7-2 advantage in penalty corners. However, AU was unable to convert any of those chances into a goal.
Field Hockey Tidbits: The Eagles are 7-0 when one or both of the Infante sisters score a goal. When they are held scoreless, the Eagles are 1-4...Sunday was the first time that the Eagles were shutout in the regular season since September 2004 against North Carolina. Maryland has shutout AU in the second round of the NCAA tournament each of the past two seasons.After losing just three regular season games combined in the 2004 and 2005 seasons, the Eagles have already dropped four games this year...The Eagles return home for their second PL game on Saturday at 12 p.m. against Bucknell.
