Article Courtesy of Sports Information Intern, Vin Rinella

SCRANTON, PA – The University of Scranton field hockey team lost a hard-fought 2-1 battle to the Catholic University Cardinals on Saturday afternoon at Weiss Field.

The Basics

• Final Score: Catholic – 2, Scranton – 1
• Records: Catholic (5-6, 3-0 LC); Scranton (10-2, 2-1 LC)
• This loss snaps the Royals' nine game winning streak, and it's the first time Catholic has defeated Scranton since Sept. 22, 2018.

How it Happened

• Looking to jump ahead early against Catholic, Scranton earned themselves a corner attempt in the second minute of the game, but graduate student Katie Redding's shot was turned away by freshman goalie Ella Bowman. The Royals had three additional shots and two more corner attempts in the first quarter but couldn't capitalize. 
• Shortly after the Royals were unsuccessful on their first corner attempt of the second quarter, Catholic's Tess Hake got by senior Lauren Franco and lifted a shot over the head of senior goalie Gianna Travia, putting the Cardinals ahead 1-0 on her first career goal.
• Trailing by a goal to begin the third quarter, freshman Lydia Bechtel intercepted a pass at midfield and flipped the ball forward to graduate student Bridget Abraldes, who later returned it to Bechtel in time for her to score her first career goal to even the score at 1-1.
• With 1:33 left in the third quarter, the Royals had their best scoring chance of the game after drawing out a penalty stroke attempt against Bowman. Junior Annie Shaw took the shot for the Royals, but Bowman, diving to her right, made the pivotal save to keep the game tied at 1-1.
• Catholic retook the lead on their first offensive possession of the fourth quarter. Niki Micciche redirected a crosser from Sophia Conners into the back of the cage to give the Cardinals the 2-1 advantage.
• The Royals kept up the pressure on the Cardinals' defense, firing four more shots before the end of the game, but all were blocked as Catholic held firm to hand Scranton their first loss since Aug. 31 at York.

Top Performers

• Bechtel scored the lone goal of the game for the Royals, the first of her career at Scranton.
• Abraldes registered one assist for the third consecutive game.

Inside the Box Score

• Scranton held a convincing 18-8 advantage in shots and an 8-3 edge in shots on goal.
• The Royals held a 10-4 edge in corner attempts.

Up Next

• The Royals are back in action Tuesday evening against Misericordia at Weiss Field in Scranton, with action slated to begin at 7:00 PM.