AU had a busy weekend of field hockey as the Eagles battled Patriot League rival Colgate Saturday and Big East powerhouse Syracuse University yesterday. The Eagles dominated Colgate, winning 2-1, but lost to the Orangewomen in an intense 3-1 match up.
Against Colgate, the Eagles struggled from the onset. Colgate was not afraid of the overwhelming Eagle offense and suffocating defense. They battled for possession and were not fazed when the Eagles sent blistering shots toward the goal. Colgate's hard work paid off in the 15th minute when Lauren Carey sent the ball flying past Eagles' goalie Alyssa Poorman.
Though they were scrambling, the Eagles were not about to sit down lightly. They had gone into the second half down before in previous games, and more times than not, they came out victorious.
As the second half whistle blew, the Eagles were ready to fight. Only 10 minutes in, Eagle midfielder Anne-Meike De Wiljes tied the game at one after she returned a blocked shot into the back of the goal.
The Eagles did not stop there and eventually outshot Colgate 9-3 in the second half alone. This included Savannah Graybill's game-winning goal with a little over 10 minutes to play in regulation.
The day after their strong performance against Colgate, the Eagles were back on their turf, battling the Syracuse Orangewomen. The first half was a balancing act. The Orangewomen would gain the ball and make a strong effort to attack the goal, but the Eagles would counterattack, forcing both defensive sides to always be on the alert.
Even though the Eagles outshot Syracuse 9-4 in the first half, it was the slick passing and opportunistic offense of Syracuse teammates Gloria Nantulya and Maggie Befort who left the Eagles down 1-0 at the half. Thirteen minutes into the game, Befort scored a beautiful put-back goal off an equally stunning assist by Nantulya. The Eagles had several chances to retaliate but could not connect with the back of the net.
As the second half opened, the crowd could see the Eagles were out for revenge. Only two minutes into the second half, Eagle attacker Maggie Hall weaved through the Orangewomen defenders and slipped the ball into the open net. The Eagles attempted to hold off a resurging Syracuse team, but Nantulya quickly regained Syracuse's lead.
With clean and efficient goal work, Syracuse's goalie Heather Hess kept the Eagles' offense at bay. The Eagles did score a second goal, but the referees disqualified it, saying there was an illegal high stick during the play. Syracuse took advantage of the deflated American squad as Brittany Shannon scored off a penalty corner, bringing the game score to a final 3-1.
"It was one of our better games," Hall said. "We played with intensity, we had better energy and our passing improved. It was the little things that hurt us. We need to work on our corner execution and ball distribution."
As for the controversial illegal goal, Hall said, "We cannot let something like that hurt us. We cannot let ourselves feel down and out."
The Eagles are now 9-3, and will face Bucknell on Saturday.
