MERION STATION, Pa. – With the Hawks trailing by a goal in the final 14 minutes, freshman forward Tonya Botherway scored twice in a seven-minute span to lead the 16th-ranked Saint Joseph's field hockey team to a 3-2 victory over James Madison at Ellen Ryan Field on Friday afternoon.

“It was just having belief in the fact that we just needed to play our game and make sure that if we played our game, we would get the result, and that's what we did,” Botherway said when asked about the key to the squad's come-from-behind win.

“Tonya's right,” head coach Lynn Farquhar said.  “Credit to JMU; they are a very feisty team and aggressive defensively.  I think we started strong and had some opportunities, but we knew that that was the type of competitor we were facing, and the focus had to be on us.  We lost our focus for a little bit, but that's a part of the process, and we're learning.”

James Madison (2-4) had taken a 2-1 lead just 73 seconds into the second half when Lindsay Gippe scored her second goal of the day and third of the season on a penalty corner opportunity.  Five minutes later, the Dukes forced junior goalkeeper Victoria Kammerinke into a pair of saves to keep it a one-goal game.

That's when Saint Joseph's (5-2) took over the flow of the game, maintaining possession for long stretches, but ultimately unable to cash in on a scoring chance until the 57th minute.  Freshman Johanna Huse sent a ball toward the right side of the cage on a penalty corner; Botherway dove to the turf and redirected it past JMU's Caitlin Nelson to draw the Hawks level with 13:34 to go.

The Hawks would later earn a pair of corners in quick succession; sophomore Emily Peters was denied on the first, but an ensuing foul led to a second chance.  This time, Botherway came from the left side, getting her stick on a ball from junior Kathrin Bentz for her eighth goal of the season and a 3-2 Hawk lead with 6:24 remaining.

SJU maintained possession in an effort to see out the victory until a frantic final minute; fortunately for the Crimson and Gray, stout defending held the Dukes without a shot for the remainder of the contest.

“I'm excited for the group; they dug deep,” Farquhar said.  “We played with each other, we played for each other, and we did believe.  We got tested, and we're thankful for that because it will make us better, and we have to keep moving forward."

In their first home game since the season opener, the Hawks came out flying, forcing Nelson into a pair of saves in the opening minutes.  Senior Anna Willocks found the breakthrough for SJU in the 11th minute as she dribbled across the top of the circle and unleashed a rocket that caught the underside of the crossbar before crossing the goal line to give Saint Joseph's a 1-0 lead.

Gippe would answer for the visitors with 7:12 remaining in the first half, poking in a loose ball from in front of the cage.  She then doubled her output for the day just over a minute into the second half to give JMU the lead and set up the dramatic comeback by the Hawks.

Saint Joseph's outshot James Madison 21-10 for the day on their return to Ellen Ryan Field, including an 11-1 advantage over the game's final 27 minutes.

“Playing at home is always a good experience,” Botherway said.  “It's great to have a big crowd behind us, and it makes a difference.”

“We haven't been home in a while; I think we were excited,” Farquhar said.  “The crowd was great; thanks to our awesome fans for coming out and providing great energy.”

The Hawks will open conference play on Sunday afternoon when they host Massachusetts.  Game time is set for noon; live streaming will be available in the United States via the ESPN+ subscription platform.