GETTYSBURG, PA -- Franklin & Marshall College's Alexis O'Meara (Jr., Annapolis, MD/Severn School) scored five goals and twin sister Allison O'Meara (So., Annapolis, MD/Severn School) added a goal as the Diplomats' defeated McDaniel 15-8 in the semifinals of the 2004 Centennial Conference women's lacrosse playoffs at host Gettysburg College.
Leading 7-6 at halftime, F&M saw the lead evaporate as Kristen Ramey scored an unassisted goal off an assist from Kim Lowry with 28:37 left in the second half as McDaniel tied the game.
The goal ignited Franklin & Marshall's offense as the Diplomats responded to the goal with eight straight scores to take a 15-7 lead before Lindsay Ricks tallied a goal off an assist from Lowry with 2:10 left on the game clock for the 15-8 final.
The string of eight straight goals started with 24:07 left in the game as Kelly Cassels (Fr., Downingtown, PA/Great Valley) scored an unassisted goal before Kiki Foster (So., Denver, CO/Kent Denver) beat McDaniel goalie Lindsay O'Steen at the 22:19 mark for a 9-7 lead.
Franklin & Marshall continued the streak as Cassels scored at 20:34, Alexis O'Meara found the back of the net at 18:21 off an assist from Foster and Holly Rutherford (So., Rochester, NY/Brighton) tacked on a score at 11:53 as the lead ballooned to 12-7. Sloan Giampa (Fr., Cortlandt Manor, NY/Yorktown) added an unassisted goal at 7:37, before O'Meara closed out F&M's scoring with unassisted goals at 7:05 and 5:36 as the Diplomats coasted to the rout.
Overall, the outburst marked the second of the game for Franklin & Marshall as the Diplomats opened the contest with six goals over the first 15:03 of play to hold a 6-0 lead.
O'Meara started the scored 19 seconds into the game as F&M won the opening draw and scored for a 1-0 lead. Brenna Dolphin (Fr., Wilmington, DE/Archmere Academy) increased the margin as she tallied a goal off a free-position shot 49 seconds later (28:52) before Foster netted unassisted goals at 23:33 and 21:34 for a 4-0 lead. Eileen Keever (So., Prospect Park, PA/Interboro) and Allison O'Meara added to the lead with unassisted goals at 20:19 and 14:47, respectively, as Franklin & Marshall appeared to take an insurmountable lead.
However, the Green Terror countered as Sara Thomas, Tara Smith, Caitlin Schellhorn, Connie Wuenschel, Michelle Mullen and Lowry all scored goals over the next 10 minutes to knot the score at 6-to-6. Alexis O'Meara gave the Diplomats back the lead as blasted a shot past O'Steen off an assist from Cassels with 13 seconds left in the first half to put F&M in front 7-6 at halftime.
In goal, reigning Centennial Conference Player of the Week Kim Pleasants (Fr., Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby) made 14 saves to record the win, while O'Steen stopped 10 shots in the loss.
Franklin & Marshall, which will make its second consecutive title game appearance, will face 2003 CC Champion Gettysburg at 1:00 p.m. in the Bullets' Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium on May 2.
Gettysburg rolled to the CC title tilt as Kathy Delauney scored a career-high eight goals and Julika Blankenship tied a program record with seven assists as the #5 ranked Bullets picked up a 24-11 semifinal win over Ursinus on Saturday.
Delauney scored five times to stake the Bullets (16-2) to an 11-3 first-half lead, then added two of her three second-half goals in a 7-1 run that sealed the win. Amy Farrell netted a season-high five goals and Jenn Kelly (added a hat trick for the Bullets, who posted their highest single-game goal total since a 24-14 win over the Bears in 2000. Liz Borucki made nine saves in the win.
The loss overshadowed a six-goal performance by Ursinus senior Emily Durkin, who helped the Bears (9-5) pull within 12-8 by closing the first half with a natural hat trick. Lindsay Givens and Aubrey Andre each scored twice for Ursinus, which dropped its fifth consecutive decision to Gettysburg. Ashley Ettinger and Casey Leap each handed out four assists on the afternoon.
The title tilt will mark the second year in a row that the Diplomats and Bullets will meet for the championship as Liz Borucki made six of her eight saves in the second half and Ashley Froman broke a six-all tie with 14:33 remaining as Gettysburg held on for an 8-6 victory last year.
Overall, the Diplomats are seeking their first CC championship, while Gettysburg is striving for their fourth CC championship following conference titles in 2000, 2002 and 2003.
CC Semifinals 1-2 -- F
Franklin & Marshall (10-7) 7-8 -- 15
McDaniel (12-3) 6-2 -- 8
Goals:
F&M: Alexis O'Meara 5, Kiki Foster 3, Kelly Cassels 2, Allison O'Meara 1, Eileen Keever 1, Sloan Giampa 1, Holly Rutherford 1, Brenna Dolphin 1
McDaniel: Kim Lowry 1, Caitlin Schellhorn 1, Tara Smith 1, Kristin Ramey 1, Connie Wuenschel 1, Lindsay Ricks 1, Sara Thomas 1, Michelle Mullen 1
Assists:
F&M: Kelly Cassels 1, Kiki Foster 1.
McDaniel: Kim Lowry 3, Caitlin Schellhorn 1.
Shots: F&M 35, MC 25
Ground Balls: F 33, M 30
Goalies: F&M (Kim Pleasants - 60:00, 14 saves, 8 GA), MC (Lindsay O'Steen - 60:00, 10 saves, 15 GA)
Draw Controls: F&M 11, MC 14
Caused Turnovers: F&M 13, M 8
Turnovers: F&M 18, MC 24
Fouls: F&M 13, MC 20
Free Position: F&M 1 of 6, MC 0 of 4
