The AU Field Hockey team was unable to sustain an early lead against Louisville on Sunday as the team lost to the Cardinals 2-1.
The No. 13 Cardinals faced off against AU at George Mason University in nearby Fairfax, Va., where neither team could claim home field advantage. The neutral turf proved to be favorable for the Eagles, who controlled play for much of the match.
AU pelted the Cardinals with shot after shot, out shooting its opponent 18-4. The No. 15 Eagles also generated more penalty corners than Louisville, picking up 14 corners in the second 35 minutes play while holding Louisville to none.
Although a great showing statistically for the Eagles, Assistant Head Coach Sarah Thorn Krombolz told AU Athletics that credit must be given to the Cardinals defensemen.
“We feel as though we should have won this match,” Krombolz said. “But we need to give credit to the corner defense of Louisville.”
From the first whistle it was evident that the Eagles were prepared for the match. AU kicked off the game with back-to-back penalty corners, which generated good looks for freshman Shelby Montgomery and junior Tatum Dyer. Louisville’s defense blocked both shots and returned the ball down the field for two shots of their own.
AU defense responded to the threat, with the Eagle defense knocking down the first shot and AU goalkeeper Hannah Weitzman deflecting the second.
The ball first connected to the back off the cage in the 13th minute of play, when AU picked up its only lead of the game. Off a pass into the circle from sophomore Jenn Bradley, freshman Lotte van de Mierop picked up her first goal of her career. Mierop dove to her teammate’s pass and slid the ball pass the charging Louisville goalie to give AU the lead.
The Cardinals wasted no time sulking over the goal, regaining their composure to produce a goal of their on four minutes later.
Balanced play characterized the rest of the half, with both teams picking up quick glances at the goal but failing to make contact with the cage. AU finished the half with dual penalty corners, but score remaining tied 1-1 when the team retreated to the sideline.
Aggression and power characterized AU play in the second half, as the team returned from intermission with three unanswered shots in Cardinals territory. Shots by Melissa Casale and Gina Hofmann sailed wide of the cage, while a bullet off the stick of forward Christine Fingerhuth was blocked.
AU’s prospects for a goal off this momentum ended when Louisville midfielder Hayley Turner drove the ball the length of the field for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
The Eagles relentlessly tried to bounce back from their 2-1 deficit, successfully holding the Cardinals to no further shots in the game.
Offensive pressure from AU was strong, with the team generating 12 corners and 9 shots in just over 20 minutes. The Eagles pressure was matched by a solid Cardinals defense and the team struggled to finish their penalty corners, an area that Krombolz said will be a focus in practice.
“We are really proud of our ability to press the wall and come up with offense on the counter attack, Krombolz said. “But we obviously need to do a better job with our corner execution in the future.”
With statistically evidence of their power and potential as a team, AU has a week to fine-tune its game before traveling to Maryland for the Terrapin Invitation. There, the Eagles will face Rutgers on Saturday, Sept. 11, followed by a match versus New Hampshire on Sunday, Sept. 12.
kgreubel@theeagleonline.com
