Hunter Pitman scored two goals on assists by Ciara Middleton and AJ Smith while Emily DiGaetano had four saves in goal and the Susquehanna University Field Hockey team defeated Scranton 2-0 to win its first ever Landmark Conference Championship Saturday afternoon at Sassafras Field in Selinsgrove.

The River Hawks (11-8) found their stride late in the season, winning six of their last seven games on the way to winning the Landmark title.

The Royals (13-6) were nearly able to get on the board first, firing a shot in the 4^th minute of action that needed to be saved by DiGaetano to keep the score tied.

Susquehanna built momentum over the following minutes, as Heather Casey fired the first shot of the day for the River Hawks that was saved by Scranton.

After a green card was issued to the Royals, Middleton carried the ball upfield and fired a pass to Pitman who weaved through several defenders before ripping a shot past the Scranton goalie to give the team an early 1-0 lead.

It didn't take very long for the River Hawks to score for a second time. Less than 12 minutes later, AJ Smith received a pass off a penalty corner from Vivian Simone and fired a ball towards the right corner of the goal. Pitman was hiding behind the defense at the far post and tapped the ball into the goal to double the lead and give Susquehanna a commanding advantage.

The remainder of the half went without a goal or a shot from either side.

The stellar Susquehanna defense led by DiGaetano headlined the action from the second half, as the River Hawks did not allow Scranton capitalize on any opportunities.

When it seemed that momentum had shifted to the side of the Royals, AJ Smith made a vital defensive save on a shot that seemed destined for the right side of the goal.

Following a timeout by the River Hawks, DiGaetano cemented the victory by making two important saves and also turned away several dangerous passes in the box down the stretch.

Scranton's Gracie McClatchy registered a final shot in the closing seconds that was turned away by DiGaetano and the River Hawks came out victorious.

After starting the season 2-4, the team went 9-4 the rest of the way and defeated two teams they had lost to in the regular season to come out as champions.

Pitman was named Most Valuable Player after tallying both goals for Susquehanna.

The River Hawks now enter the NCAA tournament as an automatic selection. Their first round opponent and game time have yet to be determined.