AMHERST, Mass. – The 11th-ranked Saint Joseph's field hockey team found itself in an unfamiliar position on Friday: trailing a conference rival.  In the end, senior Leigh James came to the rescue with a pair of goals and one of the nation's stingiest defenses clamped down to lead the Hawks to a 2-1 win over VCU in the Atlantic 10 semifinals on Thursday afternoon at the Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex.

With the win, the Hawks advance to Saturday's championship game against either second-seeded host UMass or third-seeded Lock Haven.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• VCU (10-9) had the run of play in the first quarter, grabbing the only two shots of the frame.  Camila Rosenbrock would then open the scoring early in the second with her ninth of the season on a penalty corner.

• Saint Joseph's (14-4) roared to life after conceding and began to control possession, culminating in an equalizer late in the quarter.  Lily Santi turned the corner and brought the ball along the endline before sending it toward the goal for a diving James to tip home and send the teams into halftime on level pegging.

• The Hawks would take the lead with three and a half minutes to go in the third quarter on a penalty corner of their own.  Santi inserted to Katy Benton, who stopped the ball for Freke van Tilburg.  The Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year sent a pass back to Santi, the league's Offensive Player of the Year, who one-touched it to James for the calm finish and what turned out to be the game-winner.

• SJU kept control of the ball over the final 18-plus minutes of the game, holding VCU without a shot or a corner attempt, to salt away the win.

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Saint Joseph's held a 16-4 shot advantage in the game, including an 11-1 margin in the second half.  The Hawks also earned nine corners, while the Rams' goal came on their only corner opportunity of the day.

• Robin Bleekemolen made one save in the third quarter, while Sheridan Messier made five in defeat for VCU.

• The VCU goal was the first conceded by the Hawk defense to a conference opponent this season.

• The Hawks will appear in the Atlantic 10 championship game for the seventh consecutive season on Saturday.  That matches the longest such streak in conference history; UMass reached seven title games in a row from 1996 to 2002.

HAWK TALK
"This was an absolute team effort," head coach Hannah Prince said.  "I was pleased with the fight we showed to come back and tie it up before halftime.  The second half, we played our game.  The ball movement and scoring opportunities we created were a back-to-front effort; all lines were involved and made it happen to come out on top."

UP NEXT
Saint Joseph's will meet either #18 UMass or Lock Haven at noon on Saturday with an NCAA Field Hockey Championship berth on the line.