The No. 15 American University field hockey team extended its winning streak to five matches on Saturday with a 4-2 victory at Temple. The Eagles broke a 1-1 tie in the second half with back-to-back goals scored by Christine Fingerhuth and Lotte van de Mierop as four different Eagles found the back of the cage.

American (6-2) was first to get on the board when Alex McMackin went top shelf to beat Temple (4-5) goalkeeper Sarah Dalrymple in the 17th minute. The goal came off the Eagles' first shot of the afternoon as Shay Smith found the freshman for her first career tally.

Kirstin Gebhart nearly added to American's lead one minute later off a penalty corner, but her shot was saved by Dalrymple to preserve the 1-0 margin. Constanza Palma also had an opportunity to double American's lead off a corner, but her shot went wide of the goal. Dalrymple was in position once more to turn away an American attacker before the intermission, this time saving a Melissa Casale shot to end the half with the Eagles on top, 1-0.

In stark contrast to the first half which saw only four shot attempts, each of which being taking by American, the second half began with four goals scored in an 11 minute span. The Owls earned two penalty corners to open the frame and converted on their second attempt in the 39^th minute to tie the score at one. Less than two minutes later Fingerhuth put American back in the lead, 2-1, with a great individual effort for her third goal of the year.

The scoring frenzy continued in the 43rd minute as van de Mierop deflected a Gina Hofmann pass into the cage off a corner for a 3-1 advantage. American put two more shots on goal in the 45th minute, but was turned away by Dalrymple. Temple responded with a goal in the 46th minute to put the score at 3-2.

American put the match away in the 64th minute, taking the final 4-2 margin off a corner converted by Hofmann with Kirstin Gebhart and Natalie Ellenberger assisting on the play.

"Today's match wasn't the prettiest but we were able to capitalize on our opportunities and pull away when we had to," Head Coach Steve Jennings commented. "Temple put up a strong fight and made us work hard for the win, but in the end, I'm glad we were up to the challenge. Our forwards did a very good job. Alex's goal showed great poise and gave us a big lift going into halftime and Christine put us back in the driver's seat after Temple had equalized. Hopefully we can have a complete game from all the lines tomorrow and come away with another big victory."

American outshot Temple 12-3 and held a 6-5 advantage in corners. Fingerhuth, Hofmann, McMackin and van de Mierop each scored one goal while Ellenberger, Gebhart, Hofmann and Smith picked up one assist apiece. Hannah Weitzman played all 70 minutes in the cage to earn her sixth win of the season.

Saturday's match marked the fourth time this season that three or more student-athletes have scored at least one goal. Fingerhuth, Hofmann, Shelly Montgomery, van de Mierop and Anne van Erp are each tied for the team lead with three goals while 11 different Eagles have scored at least once.

American has now won each of its last five matches, marking the team's longest win streak since the 2007 season. The Eagles enjoyed two separate winning streaks of eight matches and six matches that year, en route to a 16-5 overall record and the team's fifth straight Patriot League Championship.

American will return to action tomorrow, Sunday, September 26, when the team squares off against St. Joseph's at 3:00 p.m. on the Temple campus. Fans unable to make it to the match can follow the action via live stats by clicking here.