Senior Brooke Sheppard knocked home her third game-winning goal of the season and fifth of her career to push the American University women's soccer team to a thrilling 2-1 double overtime victory over Princeton on Monday afternoon at Reeves Field.

With the game knotted at one late in the second overtime session, Stephanie Glover held the ball in the offensive zone by sending a high pass in the direction of the goal. From the right side, Michelle Montilio received Glover's ball and directed a header across the field to Kristin Piorun, who held off a Princeton defender and moved a pass along to Sheppard in front of the net. Sheppard did the rest, firing a shot toward Princeton goalkeeper Kristin Watson, who was actually able to get a hand on the ball and deflect it high in the air. Luckily for the Eagles, as the ball came down, it crossed the goal line, giving AU the 2-1 victory in the 108th minute.

American (4-9) took a 1-0 lead in the match on a 10th minute goal by Patricia Bailey, her first of the season. Kendra Jones picked up the assist for AU, as she found a streaking Bailey on the cross, who slid her shot by Watson.

The Eagles had a chance to take a 2-0 lead when Piorun hit the post with a shot in the 25th minute. The ball bounced out of play, denying AU the scoring opportunity.

Facing a 1-0 deficit, Princeton (6-4) began to play aggressive as the first half continued, and earned several scoring chances. In the 31st minute, off a corner kick, Princeton's Sara Chehrehsa fired a header on goal from close range, which appeared to be en route for the back of the net. But American defender Friederike Engel, the last season's Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and this year's preseason pick to repeat the honor, made the clutch defensive save on the goal line to preserve the lead.

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Moments later, Princeton was back on the attack, as Rachel Saunders' shot hit the post, although the ball bounced back right in front of AU's goal. Princeton's Jen Hoy was the first to arrive at the loose ball, as she buried the rebound to tie the score at one in the 32nd minute of play, which remained the score until halftime.

In the second half, AU had the first good scoring prospect at the 57 minute mark when Sheppard crossed a pass to Engel in front of Princeton's goal. Engel slid hard into Watson as she made contact with Sheppard's cross, although Watson was able to make the tough save and earn a foul call on Engel.

Princeton had a fantastic scoring opportunity in the 78th minute when, off a corner, Kalie Bartholomew looked to have a sure-fire goal as she headed a cross toward the AU net. But for the second time in the match, Engel was there to deny the shot with a defensive save and keep the score tied.

Less than four minutes later, the Tigers again had a potential game-winning chance when Jen Hoy received a pass in the open field and had a near break-away with AU goalkeeper Lindsey Farthing. The American netminder was up to the challenge, however, as she made a fantastic diving save to maintain the tie, which ultimately setup Sheppard's game-winner in the 108th minute.

"It's a great win because we have conference games the rest of the way and it was a disappointing loss to Bucknell [on Saturday]," Head Coach Dave Bucciero said following the match. "I thought it was important to put on a good performance and win the game like we did today to give us some momentum going into the next two games."

Farthing had a superb game in net for AU, as she recorded five saves and picked up her second victory of the season. She was pressured much of the match, as Princeton outshot the Eagles by an 18-9 margin, which included an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal.

Sheppard's game-winner was her second to come in sudden victory double overtime. On September 17 against Radford, she registered the lone score of the match in 102nd minute to give the Eagles the 1-0 victory. Two days later, Sheppard scored the game-winner, although in regulation time, to propel AU to a triumph over UMBC.

American's win also marked the first in program history against Princeton. The Tigers had won each of the previous seven matchups between the two schools heading into Monday's match.

"It was a fantastic win for us, a milestone in our program, and I'm glad that this team was the first team to do it," added Bucciero.

The Eagles will return to Patriot League play when they play a pair of conference road matches this weekend. AU will visit Holy Cross on Friday, October 8 at 7 p.m. before playing at Army on Sunday, October 10 at 1 p.m.