The No. 9 American University field hockey team opened the 2010 Patriot League Tournament with a statement Friday morning, defeating Colgate 8-1 at Jacobs Field. The Eagles outshot the Raiders 44-3 on the day and will now face second-seeded Lafayette in the championship match.

Six different Eagles scored in the victory, including Shelly Montgomery and Melissa Casale who notched two goals apiece. American's (16-3, 5-0) eight goals matched the Patriot League Tournament record for most goals set in a game while its seven goal margin of victory also matched the tournament record.

Christine Fingerhuth started the scoring early as she knocked home a reverse stick shot for her 16^th goal of the year just 1:32 into the game. The score was also the 50^th of her career, tying her with Irene Schickhardt '09 for third place in program history and fourth all-time in the conference.

Montgomery scored back-to-back goals to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead, finding the back of the cage in the 12^th minute and again in the 17^th. Both of her goals came off assists from Anne van Erp. Jenn Bradley made it a 4-0 game in the 29^th minute when she banged one home from the top of the shell. She was followed by an Alex McMackin goal off a deflection of a Constanza Palma shot, giving American a 5-0 halftime lead.

The Eagles kept the pressure on in the second half and added to their lead in the 40^th minute with Casale's first score of the day. Colgate (5-12, 2-3) got on the scoreboard in the 48^th minute with a Halle Biggar goal following a corner attempt, but that was quickly answered by a Gina Hofmann blast off a corner to put the score at 7-1. Casale added the finishing touches with her second score in the 66^th minute off a feed from Jaclyn Beasley, giving American it's final 8-1 margin.

American outshot the Raiders 44-3 and held a 16-3 edge in corners. A total of 12 Eagles tallied at least one point in the victory.

The win advances American to its eighth straight Patriot League Championship Match and was the team's 15 straight tournament victory, the most overall wins in the events history.

The Eagles will face Lafayette at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow, November 6, at Jacobs Field in a rematch of last year's championship. The second-seeded Leopards advanced to the title game with a 3-2 victory over third-seeded Bucknell. Fans who are unable to attend the match can catch all of the action live via Patriot League All*Access. Fans can purchase a month-long subscription for $7.95 to watch the game, as well archives of today's first round matchups and all other fall Patriot League Championships. For more information on Patriot League All*Access, click here.