WASHINGTON, D.C. – Freshman Tonya Botherway put the Hawks in front with 25 minutes to go and the defense made it hold up as the 18th-ranked Saint Joseph's field hockey team topped American, 2-1, at Jacobs Field on Sunday afternoon.

Despite early pressure from the hosts, Saint Joseph's (2-0) opened the scoring midway through the first half as sophomore Emily Peters tallied her first of the season with 18:02 remaining in the frame.

American (1-1) drew level with 9:18 to play in the half after Rafaela Rubas took a feed from Noor Coenen and converted for her first goal of the season.

The Hawks nosed ahead 10 minutes into the second half as Botherway notched her second goal of the season on an assist from Peters to give SJU a 2-1 lead.

From there, junior goalkeeper Victoria Kammerinke and the Hawk defense held firm, holding the Eagles to a single shot over the final 25 minutes of the contest and maintaining possession to see out the victory.

Kammerinke ended the day with four saves in the cage, while Maura Jacobs made three stops for American.  AU held a 7-5 edge in penalty corners, while the teams were level with nine shots apiece.

Saint Joseph's returns to the field on Friday night when the Hawks visit ninth-ranked Delaware.  Game time is set for 6:00 p.m.