WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Holy Cross field hockey team is set to face top-seeded American this Friday, Nov. 8, at 11:35 a.m. in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals.

The Crusaders enter the tournament as the fourth seed after finishing the season a 6-11 and 2-4 in Patriot League games. The Eagles, 11-5 and 6-0, earned the top seed and the right to host the championship weekend with a 1-0 victory over Lafayette in their regular season finale.

This will be the second meeting between Holy Cross and American this season following the 3-2 Eagles victory back in October. American took the lead early on off a Noor Coenen goal in the fifth minute of play. The Crusaders would battle back to take the lead in the second quarter after a pair of goals from Caitlin Little and Megan Mulherin. Holy Cross' advantage was short lived as the Eagles would tie thing up just two minutes later.

The two sides played a scoreless third quarter, but American would secure the go-ahead goal with under ten minutes remaining off a penalty corner in the final frame. Holy Cross was outshot 21-3 in the game, but made good use of its opportunities, scoring twice and putting all three on goal. The Eagles held a large advantage in penalty corners at 12-2.

The last time these two teams faced off in the postseason was back in 2016 in Boston. American claimed the 1-0 victory.

Holy Cross (6-11, 2-4 PL):

• Minke Koomen led the Crusaders this year with nine goals and three assists for 21 points. All three are career highs for the junior who hadn't posted more than one goal and one assist in a season to this point in her collegiate career.
• Another Crusader with a career year was Madeline Alderfer as she posted career-best marks in both assists and points with eight and 12 respectively. She also had two goal on the season.
• Lexi Tilton and freshman Sinead Walsh were tied for third on the team with eight points each. Tilton scored four goals as Walsh tallied two and four assists.
• Marcia LaPlante led the Patriot League and was fourth in the nation with a .804 save percentage. Not only did she have a good precentage, but she was doing it at a high rate as her 8.71 saves per game were also fourth across the entire NCAA.

American (11-5, 6-0 PL):

• Coenen leads the Eagles with 14 goals and six assists for 34 points. She also has a team-high three game-winning goals.
• Hannah Moser is second with 15 points from seven goals and an assist, while Gaby de Kock and Jette Dieckmann are tied for third, each with three goals and two assists.
• Fiona Minter has started 14 of American's 16 games this year and has posted a 1.34 goals against average and a .620 save percentage.

Postseason Honors:

• Alderfer was named to the All-Patriot League first team for the first postseason award of her career. LaPlante and Emily Devine were each named to the second team. It was Devine's first selection and LaPlante's second as she was named to the first team as a freshman.
• American saw five players honored as Coenen, Georgia Davies, and Atina Pagani were named to the first team and Jette Dieckmann and Lauren Fredericks were second team selections.