WESTMINSTER, Md. – The Franklin & Marshall field hockey knew it needed a win on Wednesday afternoon to officially clinch its spot in next week's Centennial Conference Tournament. The Diplomats got that with a 4-0 victory on the road at McDaniel. The good news continued to roll in later that night when help from around the conference guaranteed that F&M had officially clinched a top four seed in the conference tournament and has secured at least one more home game on Tylus Field after this week.
Caitlin Hoover led the attack on Wednesday night with two goals, while Hannah Fitzgerald and Annie Malatesta also found the back of the cage during the Centennial Conference win. The Diplomats' goalie trio of Meghan Dole, Sydney Kuehn, and Jorja Pastore combined to turn away five shots for the team's seventh shutout in nine victories this year. Franklin & Marshall finished the contest with a 23-8 advantage in shots as it controlled the pace for the vast majority of Wednesday's action.
Hoover's multi-goal performance got started just under five minutes into the contest as she took a pass from Fitzgerald and was able to beat the defense for the early 1-0 edge. Just over three minutes later, Fitzgerald found the back of the cage after setting up the first goal. Her goal came after an initial defensive save against Hoover, but her she was their to collect the rebound and deposit her sixth goal of the season in the cage for the 2-0 advantage. Fitzgerald now has 15 points on the year after her three-point effort versus the Green Terror.
The Diplomats added to their lead just over seven minutes into the second half when they were awarded a penalty stroke that was converted by Annie Malatesta four her fourth goal this year. Malatesta's tally was the fifth penalty stroke conversion of her career and gives her seven goals over the past four seasons. Just like it started, Hoover capped the scoring just before the end of the third quarter as Maya Rorick found her in front of the cage. The goal marked Hoover's team-leading ninth of the season and gave Rorick her first career point. With her assist, Rorick became the 14th different Diplomat to record an offensive point this fall.
Franklin & Marshall built up a 20-3 advantage in shots during the first 45 minutes, where a pair of defensive saves from the Green Terror prevented the hosts from further extending their lead. The Diplomats also finished the contest with a 17-10 advantage in penalty corner attempts.
With its spot in the postseason now officially clinched, field hockey wraps up its regular season at home this Saturday against Johns Hopkins. Opening pass against the nationally-ranked Blue Jays is scheduled for 12 p.m. noon on Tylus Field.
