Christine Fingerhuth scored her second goal of the season and Savannah Graybill notched her first to lead the No. 14 American University field hockey team to a 2-1 win over Richmond Saturday afternoon in Richmond, Va.  With the win, American improves to 1-1 on the young season, while Richmond falls to 0-1.

After the teams traded penalty corners early in the match, American was able to take control of the game's tempo and forced several counter-attack opportunities putting pressure on the Spiders. That pressure allowed the Eagles to score first as Fingerhuth, swept the ball past the diving keeper with a sensational touch following a baseline run by freshman Jen Bradley in the 33^rd minute.  The goal was Fingerhuth's team-leading second on the season, while Bradley's assist was the first point of her collegiate career.  The score would remain 1-0 for the final minutes of the half as American continued to dominate the pace of play. The Eagles secured eight penalty corners in the frame to Richmond's one while taking 10-3 advantage in shots on goal.

American doubled its lead in the 45^th minute as Graybill converted a penalty corner, rocketing the ball by the keeper off an assist from junior Anne van Erp. The Spiders would crawl back into the match when Margaret Ellis scored an unassisted goal in the 52^nd minute to cut the Eagles lead in half, 2-1.    

Following the Ellis goal American's defense clamped down, not allowing Richmond to take a shot over the final 23 minutes to help preserve the victory.  In addition to garnering the first tally of the match, Fingerhuth led American with eight shots including three on goal.  Graybill chipped in with five shots, four of which were on goal and freshman Kelsey Davis came off the bench to add two shots on goal.   Senior Alyssa Poorman contributed two saves in the cage, helping preserve the Eagles one-goal margin.

"Our team played extremely well today," stated head coach Steve Jennings.  "We moved the ball effectively and controlled the possession.  We played excellent hockey this afternoon and look forward to continuing that success on the practice field this week and throughout the season."

American will return to action Saturday, Sept. 5, when they travel to Athens, Ohio, to meet the Michigan State Spartans.  The meeting with Michigan State is only the fifth all-time meeting between the two teams, with American taking a 6-1 victory over the Spartans in the team's last matchup in 2006. Gametime is set for 1 p.m.