AU field hockey won its NCAA Tournament play-in game 3-1 against Quinnipiac University on Nov. 13 at Jacobs Field.
“We were able to take care of business today,” head coach Steve Jennings said. “It was a tough game and Quinnipiac is a great team.”
The Eagles came into this matchup riding the momentum of their Patriot League Championship win last weekend against Boston University, and it showed early.
Both AU and Quinnipiac were limited in shooting in the first half due to aggressive defensive gameplay. The Eagles however, made the best of their limited shot opportunities.
A well-executed penalty corner inserted by junior midfielder Carly Atchinson to freshman midfielder Victoria De Kepper, who positioned the ball to Patriot League Tournament MVP Shelly Montgomery. Montgomery was able to sneak a shot past into the lower corner of the Bobcats net at 23:32 to give the Eagles the 1-0 lead.
Throughout the first half the Eagles’ defense, led by senior goalkeeper Ashley Dalisera, ended nearly all Bobcat offensive endeavors.
“Ashley is an incredible goalkeeper,” Jennings said. “She has had a fantastic year leading the way with many shutouts and just setting the confidence for our defense. Today it was no different, she came through in some key moments and that was really huge for us.”
AU’s senior forward Alex McMackin would add to the score early in the second half, driving in a shot at 38:55 from the right side of the goalie box to just inside the far left goalpost. This score was assisted by senior forward Jaclyn Anspach.
“You can never just get by with having an advantage and not keeping it up,” Jennings said.
The Bobcats finally got on the board in the 46th minute of the game, off of a penalty corner score by senior forward Jess Rusin which was assisted by senior midfielder Christa Romano and senior defender Amanda Danzinger.
AU quickly regained its two goal lead, with a penalty corner top of the net goal two minutes later by midfielder Grace Wilson, with the assist by Atchinson.
“They [Quinnipiac] were able to get in a run and put us under pressure, but what I liked is that we were able to score right away and return the two-score advantage,” Jennings remarked.
AU’s next NCAA playoff matchup will be at the University of Maryland on Nov. 16.
“We had a great game there but we will have to have an even better one if we want to get by,” Jennings said of the upcoming game.
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aromero@theeagleonline.com”: aromero@theeagleonline.com
