A pair of freshmen -- Michaela Cowgill and Nicole Paviglionite -- connected on a free kick in the 69th minute to give the American University women's soccer team a 1-0 victory over Bucknell Sunday afternoon at Reeves Field.

The score for American (5-10-1, 1-3-0 PL) came when Cowgill fed her free kick cross from 35 yards out into traffic in the goalbox. Paviglionite, however, was able to fight off her defender and send her header into the back of the net from close range to provide the lone offense in the match. The strike was Paviglionite's second of the season while Cowgill's helper marked her third of the campaign.

Bucknell (3-9-1, 1-3-0 PL) had its best opportunity to draw even in the 78th minute when Evelyn Nicinski broke free in front of AU goalkeeper Klare Lazor and had a game-tying chance. But Lazor was up to the occasion, registering the save on the low shot. The Bison failed to generate any more legitimate scoring threats over the final few minutes and the Eagles held on to earn their first conference victory of the season.

"It wasn't our sharpest performance but you have to give credit to Bucknell for making it difficult and battling for 90 minutes," Head Coach Dave Bucciero commented. "I thought the goal we scored was one of the prettiest we have scored all year and it's great to get the shutout."

AU held a 14-10 overall advantage in shots along with a narrow 7-6 edge in shots on goal. Jenna Stasiewicz led American with three shots while Jasmine Mohandesi, Erin Mulhern, and Paviglionite each tallied two. In goal, Lazor matched her career-high with six stops, earning her third shutout of the season.

"It's great to win and hopefully we can use this momentum going into our next very important game against Holy Cross," added Bucciero. "We'll enjoy this for 24 hours and then get ready for another important weekend coming up."

The Eagles will look to build on the win when they host a pair of Patriot League opponents next weekend in the final home matches of the season. AU will welcome Holy Cross to Reeves Field on Friday, October 21 at 3 p.m. before taking on Army on Sunday, October 23 at 12 p.m. Prior to the Army match, AU's five senior student-athletes will be honored in a Senior Day ceremony. Both matches will feature live video broadcasts on Eagles Vision TV.