By Mel Barracato, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna field hockey team moved their record to 2-4 this past week after suffering a 3-2 loss on the road to Dickinson on Sept. 10 in Carlisle, Pa. and a 2-1 win at home against Ithaca College on Sept. 14.
Dickinson opened up the scoring after eight minutes of play but sophomore mid elder Katie Koch responded shortly after, firing one past the Dickinson goalie to tie the game up 1-1 in the first quarter with her first goal of the season.
In the second quarter, freshman midfielder Jadyn Brezinski found senior forward Hunter Pitman, who buried a goal of her own to give Susquehanna a 2-1 lead. With two minutes remaining in the half, the Red Devils got past senior goalkeeper Emily DiGaetano to keep the match 2-2 going into halftime.
Dickinson’s Maddie Dombroski scored the final goal of the game in the third quarter with the game winner after a green card had been issued to the River Hawks, making the score 3-2 in favor of Dickinson.
With less than 10 seconds remaining in the quarter, Susquehanna’s sophomore defender Annalee Smith red a shot in an attempt to beat the buzzer but it was blocked by the Red Devils’ goaltender Heather Meeder.
Each team had one penalty corner in the last quarter but could not score off the play. DiGaetano finished the match with seven saves for the River Hawks. Pitman’s goal was her sixth of the season thanks to Brezinski’s first collegiate assist.
Pitman was again a key factor in the victory against the previously undefeated Ithaca Bombers. A penalty corner gave the River Hawks the lead in the first quarter, where a double assist from both Smith and junior mid elder Vivian Simone found Pitman, who was then able to finish the play with her seventh goal of the season.
A scoreless second period sent the River Hawks into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Both teams had multiple at- tempts near the goal but could not finish. DiGaetano made a key save to keep the River Hawks in the lead. Susquehanna then forced a penalty stroke that set Simone up for her second goal of the season about 10 minutes into the period.
The River Hawks held their 2-0 lead until the very last minute of play in the fourth quarter when Ithaca followed through on a shot.
The victory over Ithaca not only took away their undefeated record but it has also given the River Hawks a fresh look at the remainder of their season.
This win comes at a good time after having lost several close games earlier in the season by only one or two goals.
“[Our mentality] is definitely on the upswing now,” Pitman said. “That game very well may have been our turning point of this season and just what we needed.”
DiGaetano shared similar sentiments about the team’s performance.
“After we fell to Dickinson 3-2 we recognized what we needed to work on and made the changes in practice before our Ithaca game,” she said.
“Our game against Ithaca felt like a championship game, that’s how high the energy was from all 35 members of our team. That was a huge win for us on Saturday. The connections our team made across the eld and our unit mentality really came through to get us the win. Plus, Vivian Simone took an awesome stroke to secure our lead. The feeling of knowing we gave it our all on the field and seeing our desired outcome is unmatched,” DiGeaetano said.
There are still three more games until conference play, but the team is looking forward to the intense competition that awaits and to defending their title as Landmark Conference champions.
“I am so excited for our upcoming games now that our team is getting into the momentum of things,” Pitman added. “We had a tough start losing some really close games, but our team has so much potential and talent and we are connecting on another level now that is like no other.”
Susquehanna will next take on Marywood in a non-conference game at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21 in Scranton, Pa.
