No. 18 AU Field Hockey Set to Take On No. 2 Wake Forest in NCAA First Round

Nov. 11, 2008

WASHINGTON - The No. 18 American University field hockey team earned a berth into the field of 16 in the NCAA Tournament after defeating Lock Haven, 2-0, in the Play-In Game Tuesday. The Eagles earned a date with No. 2 Wake Forest on Saturday, Nov. 15 on the Demon Deacons home turf at Kentner Stadium. The game will get started at 11:30 a.m.

American (13-7) has faced seven of the 16 teams in this season's bracket, including No. 1 Maryland, No. 3 Syracuse, No. 4 James Madison, No. 6 Iowa, No. 8 Duke, No. 9 Princeton and No. 20 Albany. The Eagles went 1-6 in those contests, but hope the tough schedule during the regular season will help prepare them for the tournament.

The other game in the Eagles' regional bracket matches up No. 4 James Madison and No. 12 Virginia, with the winners of the two games set to face off on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. American fell to JMU by a 1-0 score Sept. 21 at Jacobs Field.

Wake Forest enters the NCAA Tournament via an at-large bid after falling to top-ranked Maryland in the ACC Final by a 4-3 score. The Demon Deacons are 19-3 overall. American enters the tournament on a three-game winning streak after winning their sixth-straight Patriot League Championship, defeating Bucknell, 5-2, on Nov. 8.

"We are thrilled to be back in the NCAA Tournament and have the ultimate respect for Wake Forest and how they run their program," said AU head coach Steve Jennings. "Nothing is better than going up against the best and we have been working hard all year to be ready for this moment. We are motivated by the challenge!"

The semifinals and final will be held on Nov. 21 and 23 at Trager Stadium at the University of Louisville.

For entire bracket CLICK HERE.