No. 14 AU Field Hockey to Play Richmond on Friday

Sept. 23, 2008

WASHINGTON - The American University field hockey team was ranked No. 14 in the STX/NFHCA National Division I Coaches Poll for the third straight week. The Eagles, currently 3-4, have played five nationally ranked opponents so far this season, going 1-4, and will look to get back on the winning trail on Friday when they host Richmond at 3 p.m. at Jacobs Field.

AU dropped a pair of contests to No. 2 Maryland, 2-1, and No. 7 James Madison, 1-0, last week. Richmond (1-5) also played James Madison last week, falling to the Dukes 3-2 in overtime.

The match on Friday will be the 29th meeting of the series for the Eagles and the Spiders with Richmond holding a 16-12 advantage in the win column. Last season American grabbed a 4-0 win over Richmond. The Eagles got a pair of goals from Denise Infante and Christine Fingerhuth and Irene Schichhardt each scored once. Infante, Schickhardt and Megan Henry earned assists in the win. Alyssa Poorman recorded 70 minutes of shutout play while making three saves.

"Richmond is a program with strong tradition and always provides stiff competition," said AU associate head coach Sarah Thorn. "They are coming off a big win and will have a lot of momentum behind them on Friday. Our ability to convert on our corners will be a key factor in the match up."