Brooke Sheppard's three-point performance led the American University women's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Holy Cross on Friday afternoon at Reeves Field. With the win, the Eagles sit alone on the top of the Patriot League standings with a 2-0 record in conference play.

American (7-7, 2-0) controlled play in the first half, outshooting Holy Cross (6-5-1, 1-1) by an 11-1 margin over the first 45 minutes of play. Midway through the first half, the Eagles had their best scoring chances of the half on shots by senior Kelsey Brasher and Erin Koch, although neither opportunity was able to get past Crusader goalkeeper Mary Ferketic.  

The second half, however, was a different story for the Eagles. American came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, and at the 52:31 mark, Brasher pushed a shot past Ferketic to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. On the play, freshman Jasmine Mohandesi fed the ball into the scoring zone, and Sheppard was able to pass it over to Brasher, who beat Ferketic to her left. For Brasher, it was her team-leading sixth goal of the season.

American continued to apply the pressure, and knocked home a key insurance goal less than six minutes later. The sequence began when freshman Carleigh Morba chased down a ball near the endline. It appeared that several Holy Cross defenders had given up on the play, thinking it was heading out of bounds. From there, Morba fired it across the middle to Sheppard, who fired it past Ferketic for her first goal of the season.

The Eagles played solid defense throughout, minimizing any legitimate scoring opportunities for the Crusaders. American goalkeeper Arianna Efstathiou recorded three saves for her fourth shutout of the season.

In the match, American outshot Holy Cross 18-5, and held a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal. Brasher led the Eagles with three shots on goal on six total shots.

"I thought our team did a good job overall of sticking with the gameplan," American Head Coach David Bucciero said during his postgame interview on Eagles Vision TV. "We had a lot of (high quality) play in the first half, a lot of shots that we didn't quite get the goals. But I like how our team stuck with it and didn't get frustrated and eventually the goals came."

The Eagles will be back in action in Patriot League play this Sunday, October 11 as they welcome Army to Reeves Field for a 1 p.m. kick.