Soccer Fan Blog

As the 2008 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament unfolded, American head coach Steve Jennings watched the team his squad lost to in the first round, Wake Forest, finish as the runner-up to Maryland.

Now fast forward to 2009, and Jennings will get to see both teams up close and personal as both finalists will travel to Washington, D.C., to take on No. 20 American.

“We are extremely excited to be hosting Wake Forest and Maryland this week,” Jennings said, “but the coincidence of playing last year’s NCAA finalists back-to-back is just that — a coincidence.

“It will be the end of the initial concentrated heavy phase for our program which has seen us compete against four nationally ranked teams already.”

American is 1-3 against nationally ranked opponents this season, defeating then-No. 13 Penn State. The Eagles lost to No. 11 Michigan State, No. 14 James Madison and No. 17 Indiana, but those losses still gave American invaluable experience for the road ahead.

“We believe the only way to become the best is to play the best,” Jennings said. “Our schedule reflects this perspective and prepares us well for the league schedule. It has never been enough for us to merely reach the NCAAs, we want to thrive in that environment and the next two games will certainly help show our team what it’s like.”

The Eagles will host No. 3 Wake Forest at 1 p.m. Sunday and No. 1 Maryland at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

American, which has won six straight Patriot League titles, will open League play at Holy Cross at noon Oct. 3.