SELINSGROVE, Pa. - Becky Willert recorded her third hat trick of the year and Chelsey Talhelm tallied two scores as the fourth-ranked Franklin & Marshall field hockey team cruised past Susquehanna, 6-0, in non-conference action on Tuesday night. The Diplomats remain perfect at 8-0 overall, while the Crusaders have now lost six straight and fall to 2-6.

In a game that was pushed back over an hour due to inclement weather in the Selinsgrove area, the Diplomats were not the least bit affected by the delay as they scored four first-half goals, including three in the opening 15 minutes of play.

Talhelm started the scoring in the 10th minute off an assist from Willert, before returning the favor three minutes later for Willert's first score to give F&M a 2-0 advantage. Willert found the back of the cage again in the 15th minute, unassisted, to make it 3-0.

Allison McLaren registered an unassisted score a few minutes prior to halftime to push the F&M advantage to four, while Willert (37th minute) and Talhelm (39th minute) closed out the Diplomat scoring in the early stages of the second stanza.

With the hat trick, Willert now has 16 goals on the year and has notched at least a point in all but one of F&M's contests this fall. The senior forward leads the team and the Centennial Conference (CC) in both goals and points.

Avery Koep delivered her fourth shutout of the season with two saves at goalkeeper for F&M.  Erin Ferguson and Margaret Ruth split time in the cage for the Crusaders, with Ferguson totaling eight saves and Ruth three. 

No. 4 F&M returns home for a CC matchup with Bryn Mawr on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1:30 pm.

 Franklin & Marshall (8-0) vs. Susquehanna (2-6)

 Goals by period       1  2  Tot
 -------------------------------
 Franklin & Marshall.  4  2 -  6
 Susquehanna.........  0  0 -  0
 
 SCORING SUMMARY:
  1.   9:46 F&M Chelsey Talhelm (Becky Willert)
  2.  12:54 F&M Becky Willert (Chelsey Talhelm)
  3.  14:08 F&M Becky Willert (unassisted)
  4.  31:58 F&M Allison McLaren (unassisted)
  5.  36:42 F&M Becky Willert (unassisted)
  6.  38:40 F&M Chelsey Talhelm (unassisted)

 Shots: Franklin & Marshall 22, Susquehanna 3
 Saves: Franklin & Marshall 2 (Avery Koep 2), Susquehanna 11 (Margaret Ruth 3; Erin Ferguson 8)