The 15th ranked AU Eagles field hockey team lost twice during their trip to Iowa City, Iowa, against the No. 5 ranked University of Iowa Hawkeyes and the No. 12 ranked Duke University Blue Devils.
The Eagles first faced off on Friday against the hometown favorite and defending Big Ten tournament champion Iowa. Despite its 4-1 defeat, the Eagles battled and kept the score close for much of the game
The Eagles held a 1-0 lead in the first half thanks to junior forward Savannah Graybill's goal off a cross by sophomore forward Christine Fingerhuth.
But with five minutes remaining in the half, Iowa answered when junior midfielder Tricia Dean connected off a penalty corner to tie the game at one.
After the break, Iowa found its groove and the back of the goal on three more occasions.
Iowa had many more opportunities to find the goal - they had seven shots to AU's five as well as four penalty corners to AU's one. The key to Iowa's success was its ability to capitalize on those opportunities.
AU junior goaltender Alyssa Poorman led the Eagles' defense as she recorded two saves during the game.
On Saturday, in its third straight game against a nationally ranked team, the Eagles faced off against Duke. In a similar fashion, the Eagles grappled for the lead early on. But by the final whistle, Duke left the field with a 3-1 victory.
Duke attacked early, scoring the first goal of the game in only four minutes. The Eagles answered two minutes later when Fingerhuth fired an unassisted goal past Duke goalie Samantha Nelson.
The game was a stalemate until the 19th minute, when Duke's Brooke Patterson hammered the ball past Poorman. The Eagles kept the score close until Duke scored its third goal in the final four minutes of the game.
The Eagles' defense held the team together as Duke out-shot AU 13-1. Eagle goaltenders, Poorman and sophomore Hannah Weitzman combined for five saves.
The Eagles look to get back on track when they return to the D.C. area this Friday. The Eagles play Northwestern University at 1 p.m. in College Park, Md.
You can reach this staff writer at sflynn@theeagleonline.com.
