Article Courtesy of Sports Information Intern, Vin Rinella 

WASHINGTON, DC -- The University of Scranton field hockey team advanced to the Landmark Conference Championship after a 4-0 victory against Catholic University in Wednesday night's Landmark Semifinal contest at Cardinal Stadium.

The Basics

• Final Score: Scranton 4, Catholic 0
• Records: Scranton (18-3, 7-2 LC), Catholic (9-10, 7-2 LC)
• The Royals will return to the championship for the second consecutive year, facing Susquehanna in a rematch of the 2023 Landmark Conference Championship.

How it Happened

• The Royals jumped on the board with 4:16 to go in the first quarter when graduate student Elle Collins sent a perfect pass through the Cardinals' defense to graduate student Katie Redding who flicked it past goalie Ella Bowman to give the Royals an early 1-0 advantage.
• Scranton added to their lead in the second quarter, converting on their fourth penalty corner attempt of the game with 11:38 to go in the half. Junior Maggie Keys received the insertion from senior Lauren Franco and shot it toward the cage, and it was Franco who was there to redirect Keys' shot past Bowman to give the Royals a 2-0 lead.
• Catholic threatened with a penalty corner attempt two minutes into the fourth quarter, but junior Kiera Lamb made a brilliant defensive save, keeping the Cardinals off the board. 
• Redding struck again with 9:29 left in the fourth quarter. Junior Annie Shaw carried the ball to the corner of the circle, pulling Bowman out of the cage, before connecting with Redding who poked it in for her second goal of the night.
• The Royals added one more goal in the final two minutes of the contest as senior Reagan Dolan fired a shot on a penalty stroke attempt into the top right corner of the cage to make it 4-0 Scranton.
• Senior goalie Gianna Travia and the Royals' defensive unit limited Catholic to just five shots in the game, and they defended all ten of Catholic's penalty corner attempts to perfection. This shutout was the eighth of the year for Scranton.

Top Performers

• Redding led the team with her two goals in the first multi-goal playoff game of her career.
• Franco has now scored one goal in both playoff games in 2024.

Inside the Box Score

• Scranton held a 13-6 advantage in shots and a 6-1 edge in shots on goal.
• Catholic held the 10-8 edge in penalty corner attempts. 

Up Next
The field hockey team will head to top seeded Susquehanna for the Landmark Championship on Saturday at 2:00 PM in Selinsgrove, Pa.