LANCASTER, PA – The Cortland field hockey team dropped a 5-0 decision on the road at nationally 19th-ranked Franklin & Marshall on Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats improve to 8-2, while the Red Dragons drop to 4-6 on the year with the defeat.
 
Emma Morgan (Whitney Point) made eight saves in just under 40 minutes of action in goal for the Red Dragons, while Sofia Cannistraci (Guilderland) made three saves over the final 20 minutes.
 
Franklin & Marshall was led by Hannah Fitzgerald, who scored twice and added an assist. Three other Diplomats scored a goal, including Caitlin Hoover, Megan Dadio, and Caroline Roschen. Meghan Dole stopped two shots for the shutout.
 
Hoover got the Diplomats on the board in the first minute of action, with Fitzgerald providing the assist on the goal.
 
Franklin & Marshall pushed to add to the lead late in the frame, but the Cortland defense blocked a shot and then Morgan made a save to deny Dadio. In the final minute of the quarter, Ava Passante (Endwell/Maine-Endwell) had the first shot on goal for Cortland, but Dole was able to make the save.
 
The Diplomats pushed the lead to 2-0 only 1:29 into the second quarter on Fitzgerald's first goal of the game. The deficit remained two into halftime, as Morgan made three saves in the period.
 
After four saves by Morgan early in the third quarter, Franklin & Marshall added a third goal through Dadio just past the halfway point of the period, with Keira Boensch providing the assist.
 
The Diplomats completed the scoring with two goals in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Fitzgerald scored her second goal of the game off an assist from Isabelle Allen only 19 seconds into the period, and then Roschen scored on a penalty stroke 30 seconds later.
 
Cortland had one final chance to break up the shutout in the final minutes, but Sadie Hoffmann (Miller Place) had a shot saved with under three minutes remaining.