THE BASICS:

• Score: Holy Cross 1, American 0 
• Records: Holy Cross (9-0-2, 1-0-1 PL); American (3-8-0, 0-2-0 PL) 
• Location: Washington, D.C. (Reeves Field)
• The Lead: Holy Cross freshman forward Aly Spencer (Tewksbury, Mass.) tallied the lone goal in the contest to help lead the Crusaders to a 1-0 victory over American in Patriot League women's soccer action on Saturday afternoon at Reeves Field. With the win, the Crusaders remain unbeaten in 2014 and advance their record to 9-0-2 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Spencer led the offensive onslaught right from the opening whistle. She had a shot that hit the crossbar in the second minute of action and put another chance on net in the third minute.
• Spencer was then able to break the stalemate in the 16th minute of action (15:34). Junior forward Annie Galvin (Attleboro, Mass.) fed Spencer the ball in the middle of the box and she lofted the shot just over the fingertips of American goalkeeper Charlene Belanger to give Holy Cross the 1-0 lead.
• The Eagles had a chance to tie the game in the 67th minute, as Kirsten Eriksen directed a header on net off a long throw-in, but Holy Cross senior goalkeeper Carly McCabe (Barrington, R.I.) gathered the opportunity.
• Holy Cross freshman midfielder Mairead Forrest (Parlin, N.J.) had a chance in the 87th minute with a shot on goal, but Belanger made the save.
• American had one final chance with 49 seconds left in regulation, as Michaela Cowgill launched a hard shot on goal from 25 yards out, but McCabe gathered the save to clinch the shutout victory for Holy Cross.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• McCabe picked up her eighth shutout of the season with four saves, while Belanger also made four stops for the Eagles.
• American held the advantage in total shots (15-10) and corner kicks (6-4), while the Crusaders held the edge in shots on goal (5-4).
• Spencer and freshman midfielder Alex Weyrauch (Basking Ridge, N.J.) led Holy Cross with two shots on goal apiece.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• The goal by Spencer was her team- and Patriot League-best eighth of the season, as she also leads the conference in total points with 18.
• As a team this season, Holy Cross has nine shutouts, which ties them with the 1985 and 1987 teams who also had nine clean sheets. The program record for shutouts in a season is 12 set by the 1999 team.
• The Crusaders' nine wins this season are the most since the 2000 team finished the year with 10 victories. The nine total wins are also tied for the fourth most in program history.

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 1, when it will host Boston University at 7:05 p.m. at the Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium.

KEEP CONNECTED:

• There are numerous ways to keep connected with the Holy Cross women's soccer team. You can follow the team on Twitter @HCWSoccer and on Facebook. You can also get the latest news and results on the team sent directly to your e-mail. To sign up for e-mail alerts go here: http://www.goholycross.com/list-signup.

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