By Anna Goorevich || Layout Assistant
Last weekend was a memorable one for the Diplomats as both Men’s Soccer and Women’s Field Hockey snagged Centennial Conference (CC) Championships in Baltimore on November 5.
The Field Hockey team, which is ranked 13 in NCAA rankings, secured the title after a 2-1 win against Johns Hopkins. This marked their first conference championship since 2012. The Diplomats took the lead early on in the game after a fifth minute goal from senior Annie Horsley. Soon after, Lily Mynott double the Dips’ lead in the fifteenth minute. Overall, F&M out-shot Hopkins 11-7.
Senior Sarah Schannauer was honored after the game with the CC Tournament MVP award after her impressive performance throughout the tournament which consisted of one goal, one assist, and three defensive saves, which brought her career tally up to 17 defensive saves, which is the program record.
It was also announced this past week that F&M had an impressive showing on the All-CC Team lists, after five players were recognized. Firstly, sophomore Erin Coverdale earned the Offensive Player of the Year award after a memorable season where she notched 15 goals, the most in the league. Coverdale was also included on the All-CC First Team list. Additionally, Horsley was also named to the All-CC First Team.
Schannauer also earned All-CC Second Team recognition due to her strong defensive performance throughout the season. She was joined on the list by two other teammates: senior forward Sydney Cole, and junior goalkeeper Ilianna Santangelo.
Field Hockey’s title winning season granted them an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Misericordia 2-0 on Wednesday.
The team moved on to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament where they played #9 Montclair State on Saturday and won 2-1 in a thriller. They will now move onto the Elite Eight to take on Kean University.
The Men’s Soccer team also brought the CC Championship back to Lancaster after a 1-0 win against Dickinson in a closely-fought match.
The game was held in gridlock until senior Zach Colton came to the Diplomats’ rescue after scoring in the 66th minute off a penalty kick. Although outshot by Dickinson 13-11, the Diplomat’s defense held strong to secure a title win.
A valuable part of that defense was sophomore goalkeeper Chris Amoruso who notched seven saves in the final, earning him recognition as CC Tournament MVP.
Many players also earned All-CC recognition following Sunday’s win. Seniors Jason Tonelli and Wyatt Fabian were included on the First Team, while senior Ben Draheim garnered Second Team honors. Junior Ryan Fincher and sophomore Ryan Corr were also added to the Honorable Mention list.
After winning the CC Championship, the Diplomats earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where they faced Drew University, ranked 12th in the country, on Saturday, where they dropped a closely contested 3-2 game.
In terms of F&M’s Volleyball team, the Diplomats were eliminated from the CC Tournament after a first round 3-2 loss to McDaniel. However, freshman Grace Maggiore was named to the All-CC Second Team while sophomore Grace Polisano was received Honorable Mention.
Women’s Soccer also had a strong showing on CC All-Team lists with senior Reanna Leoni earning a First Team spot, sophomore Nicolette Runko being included on the Second Team, and freshman goalkeeper Gabby Panayotakis being recognized on the Honorable Mention list.
With the Football team adding another championship this past weekend, the fall was a highly successful season for Diplomat teams who hope to continue this success into the Winter and Spring seasons.
First-year Anna Goorevich is a layout assistant. Her email is agoorevi@fandm.edu.