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American Field Hockey: 2001 Season-In-Review

Nov. 5, 2001

Junior forward Magdalena Aguilar was named to the All-Patriot League first team for field hockey in 2001.

WASHINGTON -- The American field hockey team entered the 2001 season as the Patriot League preseason favorite to win the league title but struggled early in the season with only one sub cleared to play for the team. The Eagles fell in their first three games to Davidson (1-0), Holy Cross (4-0) and Boston College (5-1). At this point, head coach Steve Jennings said that some of his players would have to step up and rise to the challenge presented by the 0-3 start.

"It will be important to put it all on the line ... (making the Patriot League Championship) will require focus, effort, and a smaller margin of error than there has been in the past," he said after American’s loss to Boston College.

The Eagles rose to the challenge and went on a three-game winning streak to return to the .500 mark and once again establish themselves as the team to beat in the league. After the initial loss to league foe Holy Cross, American defeated its next four Patriot League opponents in Lehigh (3-2), Fairfield (1-0), Colgate (6-0) and Ursinus (4-1). The Eagles also defeated VCU, 2-1, in Richmond on Sept. 19 as well as Towson, 2-1, in Baltimore on Oct. 10.

American earned three consecutive Offensive Player of the Week nods from the Patriot League in 2001. Junior forward Magdalena Aguilar (Buenos Aires, Argentina/St. Catherine’s Moorlands) garnered the team’s first-ever league honor on Sept. 24 after leading her team in its first two wins over VCU (2-1) and Lehigh (3-2).

At VCU, Aguilar notched an assist on the first Eagles’ goal, and then she also knocked in the game-winner as American finished with its first win in 2001. Playing Lehigh on Sept. 22, Aguilar had two more goals, including another game-winner, as the Eagles defeated the Mountain Hawks, 3-2, in the program’s first-ever Patriot League win.

Senior forward Elizabeth Augustine (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) then earned offensive honors the following week after netting American’s lone goal in its defeat of league foe Fairfield on Sept. 29. The goal was Augustine’s first score in 2001 and propelled the Eagles to their second consecutive league win.

Aguilar was named the Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in 2001 on Oct. 8 after netting a goal in an Eagle loss to Richmond on Oct. 3 and then scoring three goals and an assist in American’s sound defeat of league foe Colgate on Oct. 6. Her mark of three goals for six points in a single game stands as an individual game record in the Patriot League in 2001.

After winning four straight league matches, the Eagles fell to Bucknell on Oct. 27 and Lafayette on Oct. 30 to finish at 4-3 in regular season league play. American entered the Patriot League Championship as the tournament’s No. 3 seed, and fell to No. 2 Lafayette, 1-0, in the semifinals. The team finished with a 7-10 overall record in 2001 and a 4-4 overall conference record including the tournament.

Two Eagles, Aguilar and sophomore midfielder Karlijn Schellens (Valkenswaard, Netherlands/Conestoga [Pa.]), each received All-Patriot League first team honors for their individual performances during the 2001 season. Aguilar finished second in the league for goals per game (11), tied for third in total goals (11) and second for goals scored in conference games (7). Schellens finished with three goals and three assists on the season, including two game winning goals against Colgate on Oct. 6 and Cornell on Oct. 28.

In the American record books, Aguilar moved into third place on the All-Time Goals list with 38 career goals, into fourth place in All-Time Points (90), and seventh place in All-Time Assists (14). Heading into her senior campaign, Aguilar’s 38 career goals place her only three behind Sage Asteak, the current second-place career goals record holder. Coach Jennings will look to add depth to the American roster in 2002 as the Eagles look to win the program's first Patriot League championship.