Box Score WASHINGTON, D.C. – The University of Scranton field hockey team (13-0, 5-0 Landmark) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first half and held on for a 2-1 win over the Catholic Cardinals (5-9, 4-1 Landmark) in a key Landmark Conference matchup on Saturday evening at Cardinal Stadium in Washington, D.C.
The win gives the Royals sole possession of first place in the Landmark Conference with two games remaining.
This is also the third straight victory for the Royals over Catholic dating back to the 2018 season with all three victories having come by one goal.
Scranton was receiving the most votes (69) among teams in the others receiving votes category in the latest Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll that was released earlier this week.
The two teams played to a stalemate for much of the first quarter and on the final play of the quarter, an initial shot from sophomore Katie Redding (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) hit the post following a penalty corner, but senior Molly Sheehan (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial) was able to gather the rebound and bury her third goal of the season for a 1-0 lead. Just over four minutes later, senior Allie Benadon (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) dribbled around a defender and was able to beat Catholic goalie Maeve McCarthy with her team-leading 13th goal of the season to extend the lead to 2-0. Scranton held a 3-1 advantage in shots in the opening 30 minutes and took the 2-0 edge into the locker room.
Catholic mounted some pressure to start the third quarter and a defensive save from freshman Lauren Franco (West Chester, Pa./B. Reed Henderson) in the 34th minute off a shot from Molly McEvoy kept it a 2-0 game for the time being. The Royals nearly extended the lead with just over a minute to play in the quarter as McCarthy turned away a shot from junior Maeve Kenny (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) off a penalty corner. In the 53rd minute, Catholic would get on the board with a penalty stroke goal from Katie Cusumano to cut the lead to 2-1. However, Scranton's defense held strong like they have all season and despite a staggering 13 penalty corners for the Cardinals in the fourth quarter, the Royals limited the hosts to just two shots off the corners. Junior goalie Clare Maguire (Oreland, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph Academy) made her lone save of the night on a shot from McEvoy in the 54th minute to preserve the 2-1 win.
The Cardinals held a 7-4 shot advantage in the contest as four different players registered one shot for the Royals.
Maguire and McCarthy both had one save apiece on the evening for their respective teams.
Scranton will enjoy a week off before returning to action at Moravian for a Landmark Conference matchup on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 1 p.m.
--ROYALS--
