No.9 AU Field Hockey Blasts Northwestern, 7-0

Maggie Hall and Irene Schickhardt led the Eagles with two goals each

Sept. 16, 2007

WASHINGTON - No.9 American University Field Hockey rolled to a 7-0 victory over Northwestern on Sunday Afternoon at Lakeside Field. The Eagles went unbeaten in their two games at Northwestern University to improve their record to 8-0-0.

American got the ball rolling early on a Maggie Hall (Annville, Pa./Palmyra) goal just 7:21 into the game, with freshman Christine Fingerhuth (Santiago, Chile/Deutsche Schule Santiago) being credited with the assist. After scoring two goals in Saturday's win over Kent State, Fingerhuth finished the weekend with five points. Hall wasted little time and extended the Eagles' lead to two, striking again just over two minutes later. American capitalized on its first of six penalty corners, with Denise Infante (Santiago, Chile/Santiago) recoding her fourth assist of the season.

"Northwestern came out with a ton of intensity and we were able to match it," said Associate Head Coach Sarah Krombolz. "We took it to the next level by scoring early and adding to it."

Before the first half ended, AU tallied three more goals with junior Irene Schickhardt (Ludwigsburg, Germany/Schiller) starting up her first two-goal effort of the 2007 season. Schickhardt scored her first goal of the day at the 17 minute mark, beating Northwestern goalkeeper Emily Kyle with a perfectly placed reverse chip shot.. Six minutes later, Infante beat the Wildcats' defense and dribbled baseline, beating Kyle with a flick to the near post.

With less than five minutes remaining in the first stanza, Megan Henry (Roxbury, Conn./Shepaug Valley) was in great scoring position at the far post and knocked in a rebound to tally her first collegiate goal. AU outshot Northwestern 10-4 in the first half and also held the 3-0 advantage in penalty corners.

"The speed and execution of our passing in the midfield was instrumental in creating offensive opportunities," said Krombolz.

With the scoreboard reading 5-0 at the start of the second, American University struck twice more, with Schickhardt notching her second goal of the day and freshman Shay Smith (Kensington, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) finishing off the day's scoring in the 55th minute.

American University's defense held the Wildcats to 10 shots, with goalkeeper Alyssa Poorman (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks South) registering four saves on the day in route to her fifth shutout of the season.

The Eagles lead the series 3-0 over Northwestern and their eight-game winning streak is their largest since the 2005 season, where the eagles went on to win their third straight Patriot League title and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

No.9 American University field hockey returns to their home turf for the first time in four games on Wednesday, hosting No.2 Maryland at 4 p.m. Enjoy free stuff from Coca-Cola, Robeks and Apple and be sure to join the Blue Crew, AU Athletics and all fans as they strive to "Phil Jacobs."