Here is a review of University of Scranton athletic events from Monday, Sept. 6 to Sunday, Sept. 12.

Cross-Country
The men’s and women’s cross-country teams competed in the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on the campus of The Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, Sept. 11.

The Royal women finished 13th and the men 16th in their respective divisions, which included top-ranked Division I programs such as Georgetown, Princeton, Navy, and Penn State. 

Sophomore Kathleen Druther (Clarks Summit/Scranton Preparatory) paced the women’s team with a 96th-place finish in a time of 23:47.1 over a 4000-meter course, while junior Jason Bohenek (Jessup/Holy Cross-Bishop O’Hara) was the first male runner across the finish line for the Royals, placing 117th in 28:12.5 for 5.2 miles. 

Field Hockey (2-1 Overall/0-0 Landmark Conference)
The Royals suffered their first loss of the season on Thursday, September 9, with a 1-0 setback to Misericordia University in Dallas. Scranton, which held its first two opponents scoreless, did not allow a goal until the Cougars scored in the 53rd minute of the second half. Junior goalkeeper Alexandria Marandino (Granby, Conn./Northwest Catholic) made a season-high six saves. 

Men’s Soccer (3-1 Overall /0-0 Landmark Conference)
The Royals had a three-match winning streak snapped with a 3-2 loss to Cortland State University on Saturday, Sept. 11, in Cortland, N.Y. 

Scranton overcame an early 1-0 deficit on back-to-back goals by senior forward Michael Drew (Sellersville/Lansdale Catholic) and sophomore midfielder Kevin Romanauskas (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown Area) within a five-minute span to take a 2-1 lead by intermission. Joe DiGirolomo scored all three of Cortland’s goals, including the match-winner with less than eight minutes remaining. 

Women’s Soccer (3-2 Overall/0-0 Landmark Conference)
The Royals split a pair of matches during the week. 

On Wednesday, Sept. 8, senior midfielder and 2009 all-American Chelsea Paskman (Chalfont/Central Bucks South) scored her first goal of the season to lead the Royals to a 1-0 victory over Wilkes University at Fitzpatrick Field. Defensively, the Royals limited the Lady Colonels to just three shots on goal, which allowed senior goalkeeper Caitlin Byrne (East Rutherford, N.J./IHA) to pick up her third shutout of the season and the 16th of her career. 

In an evenly-played match in which both teams combined for only 12 shots on goal, Scranton dropped a 1-0 decision to Lebanon Valley College in Annville, on Saturday, Sept. 11. 

Men’s Tennis
The Royals lifted the curtain on their 2010-2011 season by hosting Marywood, Moravian and Wilkes in the non-team scoring Scranton Invitational on Sept. 11-12 at the Poly Hi Tennis Courts. 

None of the four final matches in the singles’s brackets were contested, but both of the doubles’s flights were, with Scranton winning the A flight behind the duo of sophomore Tim McGurrin (Clarks Summit, Pa./Scranton Preparatory) and freshman David Teres (Lebanon, N.J./North Hunterdon).  In the quarterfinals, McGurrin and Teres topped Drew Shreter and Nick Yelito of Moravian College, 8-4, before knocking off Wes McCollum and Clarke Freeman of Wilkes, 8-5.  In the finals, McGurrin and Teres turned back Evan Katz and Jeremy Nolt, 8-4. 

The Royals did have four players advance to the singles’s finals in their respective flights. Teres and McGurrin advanced to the championship match in the A bracket, while senior captain Carl Caceres (Teaneck, N.J./Bergen Catholic) and sophomore Joe Morra (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Preparatory) did so in the B flight. 

Volleyball (5-5 Overall/0-0 Landmark Conference)
FDU-Florham spoiled the Royals’s home opener on Wednesday, September 8, by pulling out a 3-1 victory at the Long Center. On Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10-11, the Royals hosted five other teams in the 13th annual Scranton Invitational. The Royals split both of their matches on Friday and Saturday to finish third overall. 

Sophomore defensive specialist Marissa Every (East Norriton/Mt. St. Joseph Academy) was named to the all-tournament team after recording 62 digs in four matches, including 21 in a 3-0 loss to Marywood Friday evening. The University of Pittsburgh-Bradford won the championship with a 4-0 record. 

This Week in Royal Athletics

Monday, Sept. 13
Volleyball – at Delaware Valley (7 p.m.) 

Tuesday, Sept. 14
Field Hockey – at Haverford (4:30 pm) 

Wednesday, Sept. 15
Men’s Soccer – URSINUS (7 p.m., Fitzpatrick Field)
Women’s Soccer – at Kean (7:30 pm)
Men’s & Women’s Tennis – at Bloomsburg (6 p.m.) 

Thursday, Sept. 16
Field Hockey – IMMACULATA (7 p.m., Fitzpatrick Field) 

Saturday, Sept. 18
Field Hockey – KING’S (1:00 PM, Fitzpatrick Field)
Golf – at Empire 8 Championships (11 a.m.)
Men’s Soccer – at Rowan (7 p.m.)
Women’s Soccer – MISERICORDIA (3:30 p.m., Fitzpatrick Field)
Volleyball – SCRANTON-DICKINSON (11 a.m., Long Center); SCRANTON-MISERICORDIA (3 p.m., Long Center) 

Sunday, Sept. 19
Golf – at Empire 8 Championships (10:30 am)
Men’s & Women’s Tennis – LYCOMING (1 p.m., Poly Hi Tennis Courts)