By Megan Ruge
News editor
The Susquehanna field hockey team competed in the Connie Harnum Classic on Friday, Aug. 31 and Saturday, Sept. 1 on Sassafras field.
Susquehanna faced Wilkes in the first-round game, securing a 3-1 win, sending them to the championship game where they lost 3-0 to number-four ranked Franklin & Marshall.
The Sept. 1 game featured junior attacker Hunter Pitman as the top scorer, with two goals against Wilkes.
Game one also featured a goal from sophomore midfielder Maddie Taylor, her first goal of the season, which secured the win and the spot in the title game.
ON THE ATTACK — Freshman attacker Kelsey Murray pushes the ball upfield against nationally-ranked Franklin & Marshall in the Connie Harnum Classic title game. (The Quill/Alyssa Gehris)
Susquehanna started strong early against Wilkes, opening up several scoring opportunities before Pitman secured the first goal at the 23:17 mark in the first period. Sophomore defender Gabby Martin picked up the assist on the play.
Taylor gave the River Hawks the 2–0 advantage just over seven minutes later on a pass from junior midfielder Heather Casey. Taylor made the shot from the right side of the goal.
Halfway through the second quarter, Pitman added her second goal an unassisted shot to give Susquehanna a 3–0 lead.
Wilkes freshman midfielder and defensive player Lauren Shiplett scored in the final minute, making the final score 3–1, advancing the River Hawks to the championship game. Junior goalkeeper Victoria Green stopped three shots, earning her first career victory.
But in the championship game on Sept. 1, the River Hawks fell 3–0 to Franklin & Marshall.
The Diplomats were in the Susquehanna side of the field for almost the entire game, peppering the River Hawks with 17 shots compared to Susquehanna’s one.
Susquehanna also had to deal with a plethora penalty corners, as the Diplomats had nine compared to the River Hawks’ one, which would prove to be a deciding factor in the contest. Franklin & Marshall scored both of their goals in the first half on penalty corners.
Junior forward Erin Coverdale put in the first goal at the 13:55 mark on an assist from sophomore defender Emma Durantine for a 1–0 lead.
Ten minutes later, junior defender Caitlin Morrissey would add an unassisted goal to give the Diplomats their second goal of the half.
Susquehanna would not have a shot on goal for the rest of the half and would go into halftime with a two-goal deficit.
Sixteen minutes into the second half, Franklin & Marshall would add to their lead thanks to Coverdale’s second goal of the game to make the score 3–0 Diplomats. Senior forward Emily Nagle had the assist on the play.
The loss to the nationally ranked Diplomats would be the first loss of the season for the River Hawks.
Susquehanna also fell on the road to non-conference opponent Swarthmore 1–0 on Sept. 5.
Pitman led the River Hawks in shots on the day with 11, including seven on goal.
Neither team was able to score in the first half of play, but Susquehanna did hold an advantage in shots on goal by a 10–8 margin.
Swarthmore would only put one shot on goal the entire second half, but it would prove to be the deciding factor in the game. Kathleen Carmichael would put the shot past junior goalkeeper Emily DiGaetano off of an assist from Riya Garg.
The River Hawks will return to action on Sept. 8 to plat King’s at home in a 1 p.m. non-conference game. King’s comes into the game 0–2 on the season.