MERION STATION, Pa. – Two goals from senior forward Anna Willocks and a strong defensive performance carried the 13th-ranked Saint Joseph's field hockey team past Richmond, 2-0, on a cool and cloudy Sunday afternoon at Ellen Ryan Field.

Both teams enjoyed spells of possession throughout the first half but Saint Joseph's (12-2 overall, 5-0 Atlantic 10) used the last of its seven first-half penalty corners to break the deadlock.  Sophomore Jordan Olenginski inserted to junior Pepa Serrano, who notched her league-leading 10th assist as Willocks sent a rocket into the bottom left corner for a 1-0 Hawk lead with 5:43 to go in the first half.

“[Getting the first goal] is a huge game-changer,” junior goalkeeper Victoria Kammerinke said.  “It takes a lot of pressure off of you.  We started to play a lot more freely after that.”

Coming out of the break, Richmond (4-11 overall, 1-4 Atlantic 10) earned three corner opportunities in a two-and-a-half minute span, but the Hawk defense stood tall to deny the Spiders an equalizer.

With the Spiders down a player due to a yellow card, the Hawks were awarded a penalty stroke in the 46th minute.  Willocks stepped up to the spot and beat Richmond's Emily Braunewell low to the left corner to tally her 12th goal of the season and double the SJU advantage.

The Spiders kept up the pressure, but did not record a shot for the remainder of the half as the Hawks saw out the victory to remain unbeaten in conference play.

“Especially in a game like this, we develop a strategy where we say, instead of just looking at the bigger picture, we have three points [to focus on],” Kammerinke said after posting her seventh shutout of the season.  “And if something's falling apart on defense, we go back to those three points and get everyone on the same page again and then go forward.”

“Richmond is fast, they're aggressive, and they put on the defensive pressure,” head coach Lynn Farquhar said.  “They brought passion to the table, and that was good for us; they came out with the mentality that they wanted to play and to compete, and they carried it through the entire game.”

Kammerinke finished the day with three saves while Braunewell made eight in defeat.  The Hawks outshot the Spiders by a 14-7 margin on the afternoon while holding a 7-5 edge in penalty corners.

Saint Joseph's is in the midst of a tough stretch of three games in five days and four games in eight.  The Hawks are off to Davidson for a game on Tuesday before visiting Saint Louis on Saturday.

“Recovery will be important,” Kammerinke said.  “I think it's very exciting that we have so many games in a short time, and especially two A-10 games coming up, and it's really exciting going after it.”

Game time against the Wildcats on Tuesday is set for 4:30 p.m.