The AU women's field hockey lost its second straight game against a nationally ranked team Sunday afternoon by a margin of one goal.
The 14th ranked Eagles fell to the No. 7 James Madison University Dukes 1-0 just four days after falling to the No. 2 ranked Maryland Terrapins, 2-1.
For 54 minutes, the scoreboard was empty. Possession swayed back and forth between the Eagles and the Dukes until Dukes senior forward Melissa Stefaniak blasted a shot past Eagles senior goaltender Alyssa Poorman to make it 1-0 JMU.
The defense from both teams was tenacious. Every time a team had a chance to attack, the other shut them down. Poorman led the Eagles' defense and protected the team's goal with five saves.
"Defensively, we were able to reduce the size of the field," said AU Head Coach Steve Jennings.
After the Dukes' goal, the Eagles continued to attack.
"Our offense was relentless moving forward," Jennings said.
But, with each forward push, the Eagles faced an equal and opposite push back.
With time winding down, the Eagles had several chances to capitalize on penalty corners, but the Dukes' defense shut them out. Despite having eight penalty corners to the Dukes' four, the Eagles could not find the back of the goal.
Jennings said that one of the Eagles' short-term goals is to improve the penalty corner connection rate.
"The season is based on progress," he said. "We will work on all aspects of our game both big and small. We will continue to grow and progress."
The Eagles play the University of Richmond at home on Friday at 3 p.m. It is their last game before they begin their Patriot League portion of the regular season against Holy Cross.
You can reach this staff writer at sflynn@theeagleonline.com.
