Article Courtesy of Sports Information Intern, Vin Rinella

SELINSGROVE, PA – The No. 3 seeded University of Scranton field hockey team lost a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to the top-seeded Susquehanna University River Hawks in the Landmark Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon at Sassafras Field. 

The Basics

• Final Score: Susquehanna 3, Scranton 2
• Records: Susquehanna (15-5, 9-0 LC), Scranton (18-4, 7-2 LC)
• This marked the fourth time in six seasons that the Royals and River Hawks had met in the conference title game.

How it Happened

• Scranton got the scoring started early, taking a 1-0 lead in the third minute of the game. On a penalty corner attempt, sophomore Maggie Keys ripped a shot that graduate student Elle Collins redirected toward junior Annie Shaw, who was able to poke it by goalie Ashley Derrick for the goal.
• The River Hawks threatened numerous times, but the Royals defense and senior goalie Gianna Travia held them scoreless through the first half. Scranton defended well against 11 corner attempts, and Travia made eight saves as the Royals took that 1-0 lead into halftime.
• The Royals scored early in the second half just as they did in the first, finding their second goal of the afternoon 2:34 into the third quarter, converting on just their second corner attempt of the game. This time, it was Keys who found senior Reagan Dolan who fired a shot that Shaw deflected into the back of the cage to put Scranton up 2-0.
• Susquehanna scored their first goal of the game on their 19th corner attempt of the afternoon as Taylor Rothermel grabbed a rebound after Travia made a diving save and shot it in for the goal.
• The River Hawks tied the game 4:09 later, as Mady Quigley scored on a penalty corner attempt to tie the game at 2-2.
• Just as the River Hawks did in the Landmark Championship in 2023, they scored again in the 58th minute of this year's title game. Quigley, after scoring the game-tying goal, took a feed from Sophia Prata and buried the shot, giving the River Hawks their first lead of the day at 3-2.

Top Performers

• Shaw recorded two goals.
• Travia tallied a career-high 13 saves in cage.

Inside the Box Score

• Susquehanna held a 23-8 advantage in shots and a 16-6 edge in shots on goal.
• Susquehanna also held a 21-4 edge in penalty corner attempts.