By Brandon Farren, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna field hockey team captured their first Landmark Conference Championship and a trip to the NCAA tournament after with a 2–0 win over Scranton on Saturday, Nov. 3 in Selinsgrove.
The Royals had been solid all year and came into the game the favorite over a Susquehanna team who had struggled early but caught fire down the stretch.
The game nearly had a disastrous start as Scranton nearly scored a goal in the first five minutes of action. Junior goalkeeper Emily DiGaetano however was able to turn the shot away and keep the Scranton off the board.
A minute after a green card was issued to the Royals, junior defender Ciara Middleton found junior attacker Hunter Pittman, who weaved her way to the net and scored the first goal of the game for the River Hawks just 14:52 into the contest.
Susquehanna would seize momentum and add another goal in the first half. Freshman defender AJ Smith fired a shot at the corner of the net that bounced off and the rebound shot from Pittman hit the back of the net for both her and the River Hawks’ second goal of the day.
The rest of the half played out as a defensive battle with Susquehanna blanking Scranton in the first half and carrying a commanding 2–0 lead into halftime.
The theme of the second half for the River Hawks was stellar defense and protecting their lead. DiGaetano did her part and played a great second half in net.
The Royals were getting more aggressive and put pressure on the River Hawk defense, they nearly scored a goal but Smith came through with a clutch block to keep the Royals off the board.
Susquehanna called timeout, slowing the momentum that Scranton had been riding.
After the time out, DiGaetano sent away several dangerous shots and passes to preserve the River Hawk lead.
Scranton gave Susquehanna one last scare with a last-minute shot on goal, but that was stopped by DiGaetano to cement the victory for the Rive Hawks.
Pittman received MVP honors for tallying both River Hawk goals in the game.
The team that started the season two games under .500 finished the season on a 9-4 hot streak and carried that momentum straight through the Landmark Conference tournament.
With the win, Susquehanna advanced to the NCAA tournament. However, the River Hawks however would fall to FDU-Florham in the first round in a close 1–0 game.
While their season is now over, it was an overwhelming successful 2018 campaign. The win in the Landmark Conference title game was the first time since the conference was founded that Susquehanna took home the title and the win also ended Scranton’s two-year championship reign.