Shelly Montgomery broke a scoreless tie in the 62nd minute with what proved to be the game winner as the No. 10 American University field hockey team defeated No. 7 Princeton 2-0 Sunday at Jacobs Field. 919 fans were in attendance for the game, celebrating American's fifth annual Phil Jacobs event.

The win is the Eagles' second straight versus Princeton and the team's third over a top 10 opponent since 2004. The Tigers were ranked No. 4 at the time of last year's 3-2 victory at Princeton and in 2004, the Eagles defeated then third-ranked Maryland 3-1 in College Park, Md. This is the program's first win over a top 10 team at Jacobs Field.

"This was character building win for our team," Head Coach Steve Jennings commented. "Princeton is a well organized, disciplined team. They challenged us to remain mentally and physically focused for the entire 70 minutes. The team that scored first today was going to have a big advantage and we are fortunate that the opportunity fell to us. We will need to continue our progression for two solid opponents next weekend."

Fans were treated to an exciting game right from the opening pushback as the teams traded momentum back-and-forth throughout the contest. American (2-1) earned the first penalty corner of the day just 55 seconds into the action but Gina Hofmann's shot was sent wide, negating the opportunity. Princeton (1-1) earned its first scoring chance in the 14th minute as Molly Goodman sent a shot on goal, but again the defense prevailed as Stephanie Burry made the save at the left post.

The Tigers threatened again in the 19th minute with their first penalty corner of the day. Allison Behringer's shot was blocked by an American defender, however, preserving the 0-0 tie. Princeton would take a 2-1 advantage in shots into the half with each team earning one penalty corner.

Both defenses remained strong throughout the second half, denying the offenses of what seemed to be several quality scoring chances. Tatum Dyer displayed tremendous individual effort for the Eagles, breaking up two odd-man rushes by the Tigers and preventing any shots from being taken. Princeton's Christina Maida shouldered the load for the Tigers, making saves against Rebecca Treharne and Carly Atchison to keep the score even.

American finally broke through in the 62nd minute when Melissa Casale played a ball into the shell from the right side. Alex McMackin deflected the pass at the right post to Montgomery on the left side, where the sophomore calmly slipped a shot past Maida for the first score of the day.

The Eagles tacked on a second goal in the 66th minute as Hofmann converted a straight shot off a penalty corner, with both Dyer and Natalie Ellenberger picking up an assist on the play. The corner was drawn by Montgomery to cap off a stellar day for the forward.

Montgomery's goal was her first of the year while Hofmann is now tied with Jenn Bradley and McMackin for the team lead with two. Burry turned in another solid performance in the cage for the Eagles, recording one save for her second consecutive shutout. Dyer and Ellenberger lead the team with two assists on the year and McMackin now has one.

American will be back in action next weekend when they travel to College Park, Md. for the Terrapin Invitational. The Eagles will face Ohio on Saturday, September 10 at 1:00 p.m. and Northwestern on Sunday, September 11 at 12:00 p.m. Both teams were listed as receiving votes in the Kookaburra / NFHCA Preseason Poll.

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