Photo Courtesy of Suquehanna Athletics
By Hayden Lange
For the fourth straight year, the No. 6 seeded Susquehanna field hockey team advances to the Landmark Conference championship after a 3-2 upset win over Catholic Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Susquehanna started the game off strong with a two-goal advantage. But Catholic had a fourth quarter comeback to force overtime.
The first goal came just 1:19 into the game, with junior Jada Thompson finding the back of the net. The score was assisted by junior defender Kiara Koeller.
“We all played a really great game tonight. It got a little scary in overtime, but we were able to come together in the end and pull of this huge win,” said Thompson.
The second quarter showed more opportunities for the River Hawks. Three minutes into the period, Thompson layed a pass to Koeller for the second goal to take a 2-0 lead, giving the River Hawks all of the momentum heading into the half.
In the third quarter both defenses became tighter, as the River Hawks and the Cardinals were both not able to find the net.
Catholic maintained possession and generated shots but weren’t able to find the back of the net, keeping the score at 2-0 heading into the fourth.
Catholic’s constant pressure against Susquehanna finally paid off, as senior Bella Reyes finally gave her team a goal to make the score 2-1 and shift the momentum.
Catholic continued the pressure consistently, and eventually we’re able to find their second goal of the game after junior Tess Hake striked one in, tying the game with less than five minutes left.
With the game tied, the teams entered the first overtime period to decide who would advance to the conference championship. Susquehanna and Catholic were trading scoring chances throughout the extra period, but to no avail.
With a full extra period without a goal, the game headed into a double overtime.
Both teams continued applying pressure, searching for the evasive goal, until the 72:25 mark where the decisive moment fianlly came. Susquehanna senior Hannah Garlin found the back of the net for her first goal of the season, clinching the win and a spot in the conference championship.
“I’m so proud of this whole team. We fought through a lot this whole season and they were able to do it again tonight in a really exciting game,” said Head Coach Allison Fordyce.
The River Hawks attempted only seven shots to Catholic’s 21 in the win. River Hawks goalie Taytum Lombardi recorded 12 saves, helping the River Hawks lockdown one of the better scoring teams in the conference.
As the final seed in the conference playoffs, the River Hawks pulled off two road upset wins to advance to the Landmark Conference championship for the fourth straight year.
Coincidently enough, they will square off against conference foe Scranton, who they have met in the championship for the past four years.
Back in 2023, Susquehanna claimed the first trophy of the trilogy with a 2-1 double OT win. The River Hawks followed that by going back-to-back in 2024, but the Royals were able to strike back in 2025 with a 3-0 win. Now, Susquehanna will look to bring back home the landmark conference championship.
The River Hawks and the Royals will continue their rivalry for the fourth straight year in the Landmark Conference Championship on Saturday, Nov 7 at noon in Scranton, Pa. Susquehanna pulled off Susquehanna will travel to Scranton on Saturday for the conference title.