In fact, the junior midfielder wouldn't have expected her first career goal to be the deciding factor in a 1-0 win over non-conference opponent Penn at Rhodes Field in Philadelphia either, but it was.

"It's been long enough," Hillin said. "I feel like I've been working for it and to finally get it feels great."

The ball was bouncing around a few players about 20 yards from the goal when Hillin wound up and struck the ball high over Penn goalie Caroline Williams' outstretched hand and into the top left corner of the net.

Hillin's goal, which came in the 10th minute, put the Tigers (2-1-1) up 1-0 during a game that up until that point, the Quakers (0-1-0) had been dominating in every aspect.

"Penn was very good and they were able to put a lot of pressure on us but we didn't give up anything easy," Towson Coach Greg Paynter said.

The first half was controlled by the Quakers, who had nine shots as well as numerous corner kicks, free kicks and offensive rushes. Junior goalkeeper Jocelyn Papciak recorded four first half saves and was helped out by the crossbar as well as an offsides call on freshman forward Kathryn Barth.

Other than the goal, the Tigers were rather stagnant on the offensive end only amassing one first half shot and going over 70 total minutes without a second attempt on goal.

"I think the defense did a great job of not just keeping balls out of the net but also playing it out to the midfield and playing it out of the back," Papciak said.

The second half was another story as the Tigers made more runs and held possession for longer periods of time, which created more opportunities and kept the Quaker defense on their heels. More time spent in the offensive end translated into more shots on goal as the Tigers had five shots on net in the second half.

Papciak came up big for the Tigers by making six total saves, several of which occurred during the final minutes of play and were at a high vantage point. The shutout is her second of the year and the fourth of her career.

"Jocelyn came up huge and was really consistent," Paynter said.

"It's always nail-biting but I guess we're unfortunately getting used to it and playing under pressure," Papciak said. "But, it's always important because we're always playing under pressure ... It's getting us ready for the conference."

The Tigers continue on their nine-game road trip to start off the 2010 campaign when they face Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

"I feel like we really held our own tonight," Hillin said. "Get the 'w' and that's it. We got it done."