The AU field hockey team ended its season Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C., as the No. 2 ranked Wake Forest University Demon Deacons ousted the No. 18 ranked AU Eagles 7-1 in the first round of the NCAA field hockey tournament.
The Deacons, who won the NCAA field hockey championship three years in a row between 2002 and 2004 and lost in 2006 to the University of Maryland, College Park, overwhelmed the Eagles on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field.
Junior defender Anne-Meike DeWiljes scored the Eagles lone goal while the Deacons scored five of their seven goals off of penalty corners and out shot the Eagles 18-7 on the game.
The Deacons began their run early on when junior forward Hillary Moore shot the ball past Eagles' junior goalie Alyssa Poorman in the first minute of the game. The Eagles subdued the Deacons' attack when DeWiljes netted her goal off a penalty stroke in the 13th minute, tying the game at one apiece.
But the Eagles could not hold back the Deacons' offense for long, as they finished the first half on a 3-0 charge. Senior forward Minou Gimbrere netted two goals during the Deacons first half attack while senior midfielder Michelle Kasold added a goal and four assists for the game. The Deacons continued their offensive surge in the second half with three more goals, distancing the Eagles from any possible comeback.
Despite the lopsided score, Poorman, who was named to the All-Patriot League second team and ranked 17th in the nation in save percentage (.753), finished the game with eight saves.
The Eagles, who finished the season with a 13-8 record, look to bounce back and return to the NCAA tournament next season and possibly beyond. The Eagles will lose seniors defender Katie Turner, midfielder Jesika Pufnock, midfielder Megan Henry, and first team All-Patriot League and Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year attacker Irene Schickhardt to graduation but the Eagles will return first team All-Patriot League members sophomore forward Christine Fingerhuth and DeWiljes, and second team All-Patriot League members freshman midfielder Tatum Dyer, junior forward Savannah Graybill, sophomore midfielder Kirstin Gebhart, sophomore midfielder Anne van Erp and Poorman.
You can reach this staff writer at sflynn@theeagleonline.com.
