LANCASTER, Pa.- Defending Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week
Hannah Fitzgerald provided the deciding factor in Tuesday's Centennial Conference Tournament First Round clash against Haverford (10-9, 6-4 Centennial Conference), as her fourth-quarter goal broke a late tie to give No. 12 Franklin & Marshall (14-4, 7-3 Centennial Conference) a 2-1 win.
Caitlin Hoover provided the assist to Fitzgerald's goal while scoring the opening goal for F&M. Meghan Dadio had one assist. The F&M defense conceded just six shots, while
Meghan Dole made one stop in the cage.
The Diplomats scored the game's opening goal 11 minutes into the first quarter, opening the sequence by winning the ball on a high press that forced an errant pass to Dadio. She dribbled right to create space and put an effort on goal that was redirected by Hoover just in front of the keeper to put the Diplomats on the board. The Fords totaled two shots in the first period but did not test the goalkeeper through the opening 15 minutes.
After forcing a save from Dole a few minutes prior, the Fords drew level in the 20th minute from a penalty corner. The injection was passed to the far side before being redirected to the injection side, fired towards goal, and redirected past the last defender on the goal line. F&M regained momentum following the goal, outshooting Haverford 3-1 in the final ten minutes, although the game went into the break in a deadlock.
The third period was fully controlled by F&M, as they maintained an 8-0 shot advantage with seven penalty corners, although they were unable to find the back of the cage. The Diplomats kept testing the Fords' defense to begin the fourth quarter, forcing three saves from Steph Ionescu in the first eight minutes.
After seeing a redirect goal ruled out for an infraction just minutes prior, Fitzgerald converted the game-winning goal in the 53rd minute. Hoover played the ball into the circle to Fitzgerald near the penalty circle, and she dribbled backwards to create space from her markers before shooting past the keeper's left.
F&M kept up the offensive pressure in the remaining time while allowing no shots to secure a fifth-consecutive appearance in the Centennial Conference Tournament's semifinal round.
The Diplomats improved their postseason record against the Fords to 5-1, staying a perfect 5-0 when playing in Lancaster.
The Diplomats' next test sees them travel to Baltimore to face top-seeded No. 9 Johns Hopkins on Thursday, November 6, at 6 p.m. A preview of the contest will be released on Thursday prior to the game.
