WASHINGTON, DC—For 65 minutes, The University of Scranton field hockey withstood a shooting barrage from 12th-ranked Catholic University Friday evening in Landmark Conference action.

But in the final five minutes, the Cardinals finally wore down the Royals' defense and emerged with a 2-0 victory.

Freshman Katie Bertrand (Germantown, Md./Clarksburg) and senior forward Mary Swarthout (Rockville, Md./Good Counsel) scored within three minutes of each other as the Cardinals improved to 12-1 overall and locked up the top seed in the upcoming Landmark Conference tournament with a 5-0 league record.

The loss drops Scranton to 9-5 overall and into a tie for the fourth and final playoff spot with Susquehanna with a 2-3 league mark.  The Royals will play their final conference game against 20th-ranked Juniata College next Saturday, October 29, beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Field.

The loss also overshadowed a brilliant career-high tying 17-save performance by Scranton senior goalkeeper Alexandria Marandino (Granby, Conn./Northwest Catholic).  On September 28, Marandino stopped 17 shots in a 3-0 loss to Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.

The Cardinals, who now hold a 6-0 lead in the all-time series with Scranton, held a commanding 28-1 advantage in shots and a 15-1 advantage in penalty corners.

The Royals will return to action this Tuesday, October 25, against Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, beginning at 7:00 p.m.