The impact that Mary Kilgannon-Dugan '87 made on the Franklin & Marshall women's soccer team was immediate. While having the last name Kilgannon certainly helped, it was her speed, skill, and determination that earned her the nickname "killer" on the field and gave nightmares to opposing coaches who had to figure out a way to stop her from continually scoring. Despite the opposition's best efforts, Kilgannon-Dugan kept finding ways to score and the Diplomats continually found ways to win.
Entering F&M in the fall of 1983, the Diplomats were in just their fourth season as a varsity program. By the fall of her senior season in 1986, the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) had officially adopted women's soccer as one of its sports and Kilgannon-Dugan immediately had the Diplomats in championship pursuit. Kilgannon-Dugan shares the distinction, with teammate Beth Byrne, as being the first All-Americans in the history of the women's soccer program. During her historic season campaign, Kilgannon-Dugan racked up 11 goals and added four more assists from her spot in the midfield.
With Kilgannon-Dugan leading the way as a four-time Team MVP, the Diplomats posted four consecutive winning seasons, including a 13-3 campaign in 1985 that broke the school's record for wins in a single season. Just one year later, the Diplomats were in the inaugural MAC Championship game where they squared off one more time against a Scranton side who they had tied during the regular season. Although the Royals emerged with a 2-1 victory, the Diplomats certainly proved they could compete with some of the best teams in the country.
That road to the championship match included a win over NCAA Tournament qualifier Methodist as F&M challenged itself with a daunting schedule. Nevertheless, the postseason success was far from finished as the Diplomats advanced to the ECAC Tournament during Kilgannon-Dugan's senior year, where only a defeat to a William Smith side that was one year away from a spot in the national championship match denied the Diplomats from advancing further in the tournament. Prior to the MAC welcoming women's soccer as an official sport, Kilgannon-Dugan and her teammates posted their winning records despite playing against teams that now compete in the Division I ranks, including Penn State, Delaware, Rutgers, Richmond, Army, and Princeton.
Kilgannon-Dugan graduated from Franklin & Marshall as the program leader in both points (108) and assists (26), while leaving the College as the third-leading goal scorer (41). At the time, she also set school records for points (10) and assists (5) in a game. Kilgannon-Dugan is one of just two players in program history with at least three hat-tricks throughout her career.
In reaching the century mark for career points, Kilgannon-Dugan became the third player in the young program's history to accomplish that feat. Today, she still stands as just one of six players in school history to hit that milestone. Over 63 career matches played, Kilgannon-Dugan averaged 1.71 points per contest, a mark that stands as the fourth-highest average in program history to this day.
After graduating from Franklin & Marshall, Kilgannon-Dugan became a Psychiatric Social Worker. At the urging of her friends, she eventually took enough graduate courses to become an accredited Psychotherapist. Kilgannon-Dugan has been working in the field of mental health for the past 30 years, where she takes great pride in helping others. She still carries her dedication and lifelong love of learning that she gained at Franklin & Marshall everywhere she goes in her professional field.
