Behind goals from senior Taylor Ryan and sophomore Morgan Bower, and a clean sheet from senior goalkeeper Grace Bendon, the third seeded Saint Joseph's women's soccer team downed sixth seed Fordham, 2-0, in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Atlantic 10 Championship on Saturday night at Sweeney Field. With the win, the Hawks advance to face second seed VCU in the semifinals next Friday, November 2 at 3 p.m. at Dayton's Baujan Field.

Hosting its first ever A-10 Championship match, Saint Joseph's got on the board early on Ryan's third goal of the season. Off a free kick by senior Paige Bergman, Ryan headed the ball to the far left post and past the Fordham goalkeeper to make it 1-0 at 14:54.

Dominating the pace for most of the first half, the Hawks (14-4-2) took the lead into the second stanza, but quickly added to it.

Off a pass from senior Dakota Mills early into the second half, junior Gabrielle Vagnozzi quickly fed the ball to Bower streaking down the left side of the box. Reaching the ball in stride, Bower delivered a shot into the back of the right side of the goal to make it 2-0 at 48:54.

From there, Saint Joseph's defense and Bendon would make the score stand as Bendon thwarted Fordham's two shots on goal to earn her eighth shutout of the season and added to her single-season record for wins with her 14th.

Saint Joseph's will face VCU for the second time this season come Friday. The Hawks, who are advancing to their third straight semifinal appearance, won the previous match, 2-0, on October 7 on Sweeney Field. The winner of Friday's match will move on the title game of the A-10 Championship at noon on Sunday.

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