Photos

LANCASTER, Pa. - No. 4 Franklin & Marshall captured its first-ever Centennial Conference (CC) field hockey title with a 4-1 triumph over No. 15 Haverford on Sunday at Tylus Field. The Diplomats (18-1) have now won 18-straight games and earn the CC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, while the Fords (14-5) must now wait for tonight's release of the NCAA brackets to determine their postseason fate.

The victory marks the fifth conference title in program history for F&M, but the first since the Centennial formed in 1993. The Diplomats secured four conference crowns while competing in the Middle Atlantic Conference in 1976, 1977, 1981 and 1982.

Chelsey Talhelm gave F&M an early lead with an unassisted tally in the 10th minute of play. The senior forward uncorked a blast just inside the circle on the right side, and her strike ricocheted off a Haverford defender and into the cage for a 1-0 Diplomat edge.

The score remained at 1-0 until the Fords' attempted to seize the momentum in the early stages of the second half. In the 38th minute, Haverford's Bryn Bissey delivered a cross from the right side into the center of the circle near goal, where Mary Hobbs was waiting and slid it into the cage to even things up at 1-1.

Any momentum Haverford seemed to gain from Hobbs's goal didn't last long, however, as the Diplomats fired right back less than 30 seconds later. Talhelm once again jump started the attack for F&M, firing a liner towards goal that was re-directed at the last second by Kristen Zublin, giving the Diplomats back the lead, 2-1.

Seven minutes later, Zublin struck again for her conference-leading 20th score of the year. The senior got her stick on a loose ball on the left side near goal, and pushed it past Haverford goalkeeper Sydney Hyder to make it 3-1.

Steph McDonald's insurance goal in the 63rd minute directly off a Rachel Cooke penalty corner gave the Diplomats a comfortable 4-1 margin as time ticked down on the clock.

Goalkeeper Avery Koep was stellar all afternoon long between the pipes for F&M, stopping seven shots to post the win. Hyder also tallied seven saves for the Fords in the loss.

F&M will find out its NCAA Tournament path following tonight's release of the NCAA brackets. The exact time of the release has yet to be posted by the NCAA. Check back to GoDiplomats.com for updates concerning F&M's postseason schedule.

#15 Haverford College (14-5) vs. #4 F&M (18-1)

 Goals by period       1  2  Tot
 -------------------------------
 Haverford College...  0  1 -  1
 F&M.................  1  3 -  4
 
 SCORING SUMMARY:
  1.   9:24 F&M Chelsey Talhelm (4) (unassisted) - shot from right deflected in off defender
  2.  37:15 HAVFHK Mary Hobbs (15) (Bryn Bissey) - cross from right
  3.  37:39 F&M Kristen Zublin (19) (Chelsey Talhelm) - deflected in front
  4.  44:16 F&M Kristen Zublin (20) (unassisted) - loose ball on left side, close-range shot
  5.  62:29 F&M Steph McDonald (8) (Rachel Cooke) - first pass off corner

 Shots: Haverford College 11, F&M 18
 Saves: Haverford College 7 (Sydney Hyder 6; TEAM 1), F&M 7 (Avery Koep 7)
 F&M wins first-ever Centennial Conference Championship