Coming off a solid 2022 season that saw the Eagles finish second in the regular season and as the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, the squad enters 2023 atop of the League's Preseason Poll. With three athletes on the Preseason All-League Team and the Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year in Bryn Underwood, a roster that boasts 12 upperclasswomen as well as a strong incoming class of 10, the Eagles are looking to take flight and return to the NCAA Tournament in the 2023 season.
RECORD HOLDING HEAD COACH
Steve Jennings will be entering into his 25th year, celebrating his silver anniversary at the helm of the American Eagles Field Hockey team. Jennings holds the Patriot League record for Head Coach of the Year awards with 10 and is one of the most decorated field hockey coaches in the country. His teams have consistently been among the most dominant in the conference, with 12 PL tournament titles and 10 undefeated seasons. Just seven away from a career 300 victories, Jennings heads into the season with a win percentage of .651, 10th in a lineup of NCAA DI active head coaches.
VETERAN LEADERSHIP
Among the the Eagles' 12 returners are graduate students Charllene Boshoff and Megan Hoffman. The defender and forward combo will provide intrasquad leadership.
American will also boast the 2022 Goalkeeper of the Year, Bryn Underwood. Underwood was also named 2023 Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year for the second season in a row. On the Patriot League Preseason All-League Team along with her is Boshoff and junior forward Federica Turina Dellamaggiore – the second highest points getter in the league in 2022 with 25 total points from 11 goals and three assists.
INCOMING CLASS
Two international recruits, Sophie Willemse (Oisterwijk, The Netherlands) and Emilia Winkler (Berlin, Germany) will join the Eagles squad this fall. Along with eight home-grown incoming student-athletes these two additions amount to a total of 10 fresh faces on the roster this season.
"We are unbelievably excited to welcome eight incredible people to our program," said head coach Steve Jennings. "The talent, passion and potential of this class is outstanding, and we cannot wait to get started in August. Beyond their abilities as players, it is who they are as people that make them each an important and vibrant fit into our culture. We can only do big things if we do them together and we know the incoming class of Alyssa, Ashley, Elle, Emilia, Emma, Jordan, Liz, Sarah, Skye, and Sophia will bring their own spark to a group that has worked hard and grown significantly this spring!"
2023 schedule
Home Dominance
- The Eagles enjoy a heavy advantage at Jacobs Complex and have gone 14-5 over the past three seasons. This bodes well for the Eagles who will be taking on a challenge heavy conference and non-conference home schedule this season.
- Since Jacobs Complex opened in September 2005, the Eagles have been dominant at home with a 122-46 (.726) overall record, including nine Patriot League Championship titles and five NCAA Tournament play-in victories.
- The 2023 season opener will be on Aug. 25 against Ohio University; two days later, on Aug. 27, the Eagles will be squaring off with NCAA tournament semifinalists Penn State.
- The final home game of the regular season will be a conference matchup with Holy Cross on Oct. 21 for Senior Day.
NOT TAKING IT EASY
- Five opponents on the 2023 schedule were ranked in the top-25 in the final NFHCA Coaches' Poll of the 2022 season.
- American will make its 25th appearance in the Terrapin Invitational, hosted by Maryland in College Park on Sept. 9 and 11. AU has been among the teams featured in the invitational in all but two years since it began in 1996 and holds a 30-15 record. While there they will face off against Miami University who finished the season ranked 25.
- The Eagles will also take on two NCAA semifinalists when they face off against Penn State and Maryland at Jacobs Complex on Aug. 27 and Oct. 8 respectively. Penn State was ranked sixth and Maryland second in the final NFHCA Coaches' Poll of the 2022 season.
- Other ranked opponents include Liberty on Sept. 3 and Cornell on Sept. 17, both on the road. Liberty finished the 2022 season ranked 13 while Cornell topped out at 24 in the final poll.