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Patriot League Champions!
AU Women's Lacrosse Defeats Bucknell in Patriot League Championship, 15-6, to advance to NCAA Tournament

April 27, 2003

The AU women's lacrosse team won the Patriot League Championship with a 15-6 win over Bucknell.

WASHINGTON — Taking lead from senior Nadia Harmsen, the American University women's lacrosse team captured its first Patriot League Championship with a 15-6 decision over Bucknell on Sunday at Reeves Field.

With the win, AU (11-6) earns a berth to its first-ever NCAA Tournament after losing in the 2002 championship. Harmsen won tournament MVP honors after leading all scorers with four goals on the day and nine in two days. She finishes the tournament with 12 points.

American led in shots by a 38-25 margin and scooped up 36 ground balls to the Bison's 28. The Eagles were dominating in draw controls with 18 compared to Bucknell's four as sophomore Gina Riitano tied the AU school record with seven draw controls.

American keeper Kathleen Finnegan made 10 saves while Sara Mackintosh was solid with a pair of saves in 4:37.

Riitano, who was a force offensively with seven goals and one assist during the tournament, opened the scoring at 24:48 with an unassisted shot. The Bison established the first lead over the Eagles of the tournament with a pair of goals by Amy Hasler.

Senior Nadia Harmsen was named Patriot League Tournament MVP.

Riitano fought back with a free position shot at 15:25 to tie it up at two apiece. Harmsen got on the board for the first time on a free position score before Suzanne Raffaele made it 3-3 at 11:49. Harmsen netted two more goals and Katy Zaweski tallied her single goal of the day on a free position shot after forcing the Bucknell defense to play aggressive offense as AU began to take control of the game.

The halftime scored was 7-3 when the Eagles ran out the last 2:30 with Riitano scoring on a free position shot with two seconds remaining. AU went on a tear that extended into the second half, registering six straight unanswered goals for a 9-3 advantage. The ninth goal resulted from reserve Courtney Bennett stripping a pass from BU goalkeeper Nicole Kallis and charging down the left side of the goal for a one-on-one goal.

Also scoring for American were Laura Repoli (2) and Tara Michael with a second half goal. Jamie Crean was key with a pair of goals while Lindsay Cartin contributed with a single score. Marisa Richter and Moriah Linnell each recorded an assist in the offensive outpouring.

For the Bison, Raffaele finished with two goals while Laura Nuss and Annie Greenspun each had a goal. Kallis made 14 saves while facing 38 shots in a complete game effort.

The Eagles also had 12 free position shots in the match, converting seven, while the Bison were not awarded any. AU's 11th win of the season sets a new school record.

The Eagles will host George Mason on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in a final game before the NCAA Tournament.