The No. 8 AU field hockey team lost a pair of games this weekend at the Terrapin Invitational in College Park, Md. The Eagles (2-3) lost 2-1 in overtime on Saturday against Ohio University and fell to Northwestern University on Sunday 2-1 after outshooting the Wildcats 17-5.
Ohio upsets AU in overtime
The Eagles played well against Ohio, who is now riding a six-game winning streak to open the season. The Bobcats (6-0) maintained offensive control in the first half, but AU’s strong defense was able to deflect three shots on goal.
AU jumped out ready to attack at the start of the second half, scoring a goal on a penalty corner in the 42nd minute. Alex McMackin was responsible for the lead, after teammate Gina Hofmann’s attempt was deflected right at her, giving her an open lane at the left post.
Less than 10 minutes later, Ohio came back and tied the game on a goal by Louzeth Schutte. AU’s Grace Wilson almost gave the Eagles the lead in the 67th minute but was unable to get a shot past the Bobcats’ Jen McGill, forcing the game into overtime.
After blocking two Ohio penalty corners early, the Eagles were unable to block Taylor Brown’s straight shot off the corner in the 80th minute.
“Ohio played a very strong and disciplined game and while it could have gone either way, they deserved the win,” Head Coach Steve Jennings told AU Athletics. “I believe we can learn a lot from this loss and use it to help us focus on the critical elements of our style of play.”
Northwestern clips Eagles
The story was similar for the Eagles’ Sept. 11 game, as they could not prevail in another very close game against Northwestern.
The Wildcats (4-2) jumped out first on a goal by Regan Mooney in the 12th minute. Several minutes later, AU scored on a pass by Grace Wilson that deflected off the stick of Kati Rothenhoefer and slid past Northwestern goalkeeper Maddy Carpenter.
The Eagles entered the second half with the game tied 1-1 even though they outshot the Wildcats 6-2. The women continued to pressure the Northwestern goal, but their three shots were unable to penetrate the thick Wildcat defense.
Before AU had a chance to setup another attempt, Northwestern took possession on a penalty and Chelsea Armstrong’s goal made it 2-1 Wildcats in the 47th minute of play.
The Eagles made several quality attempts to score down the stretch, but the sound Northwestern defense was able to hold onto the lead up until the clock showed zeroes.
Despite outshooting the Wildcats 17-5 and having more chances on penalty corners (5-4), AU was unable to use those opportunities to put shots past the net.
Some positives to come out of the loss were Rothenhoefer’s first career goal and Wilson notching her second assist of the season.
The Eagles will try and bounce back from the two consecutive losses when they host the University of Louisville at Jacobs Field on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 2 p.m.
sports@theeagleonline.com
