GETTYSBURG, PA -- Kiki Foster (So., Denver, CO/Kent Denver), Allison O'Meara (Jr., Annapolis, MD/Severn School), Kelly Cassels (Fr., Downingtown, PA/Great Valley) and Virginia Rollins (Fr., Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) scored pairs of goals, but Gettysburg's Amy Farrell scored four goals and Julika Blankenship collected a game-high seven points, lifting fifth-ranked Gettysburg to its third consecutive Centennial Conference women's lacrosse championship via a 14-8 win over Franklin & Marshall.
With the conference crown, Gettysburg (17-2) earned its fourth berth in the NCAA tournament. The NCAA field will be announced on Sunday evening with first-round action slated for Wednesday.
Bullets' goalie Liz Borucki made six saves to keep Gettysburg in the game as the Bullets' defense held the Diplomats (10-8) scoreless for stretches of 17 and 25 minutes, including the first 22:18 of the second half.
Making their second consecutive title game appearance, the Diplomats took the lead in the opening minutes of the first half as Allison O'Meara scored at the 3:20 mark. However, Gettysburg scored the next six goals to go in front to stay.
Murphy started Gettysburg's scoring by blocking a free-position attempt by Beverly Menghetti (Fr., Glen Mills, PA/Penncrest) and racing into F&M territory before Kathy Delauney scored to tie the game at 1-1.
Blankenship tacked on an unassisted goal at 9:05 and Delauney converted a free-position attempt before Blankenship scored off an assist from Jenn Kelly to make the score 4-1 with 15 minutes to play in the half.
Farrell one-timed a feed from Blankenship past F&M goalie Kim Pleasants (Fr., Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby) at 16:21 before Delauney capped off a hat trick and the Bullets' 6-0 run with a goal off an assist from Blankenship.
Cassels broke F&M's scoring drought at 20:47, but another Blankenship-to-Farrell goal restored the Bullets' five-goal lead.
Franklin & Marshall cut the lead back to four goals as Foster found Cassels who buried a blast past Borucki to make the score 7-3 with 4:27 remaining before Foster rifled a shot from the eight-meter mark for a 7-4 game.
The Bullets closed out the first half scoring as Cassidy Zappacosta finished a feed from Blankenship courtesy a left-handed shot with 36 seconds remaining in the half for an 8-4 score.
Gettysburg ran the lead out to 13-4 in the second half as Kelly added two goals, while Blankenship, Farrell and Katie Lowe tallied solo scores as the Bullets coasted to the win.
Franklin & Marshall attempted a comeback as Rollins tallied a score off an assist from Foster with 7:42 left and Allison O'Meara connected on an assist from Rollins at 6:09 to pull to within 13-6. Farrell countered with a score courtesy an assist from Lowe with 5:31 remaining on the game clock, but Foster zipped a shot past Borucki 13 seconds later to pull to within 14-7 with 5:18 left to play.
Rollins converted an assist from Eileen Keever (So., Prospect Park, PA/Interboro) with 25 seconds left on the clock to close out the scoring.
In goal, Pleasants made seven saves as F&M falls to 17-16-1 all-time against the Bullets (17-2).
Franklin & Marshall (10-8) will now await word from the Eastern College Athletic Conference selection committee regarding a possible berth in the organization's regional post-season tournament.
CC Championship 1-2 -- F
Franklin & Marshall (10-8) 4-4 -- 8
#5 Gettysburg (17-2) 8-6 -- 14
Goals:
F&M: Kiki Foster 2, Virginia Rollins 2, Allison O'Meara 2, Kelly Cassels 2.
Gettysburg: Amy Farrell 4, Julika Blankenship 3, Kathy Delauney 3, Jenn Kelly 2, Katie Lowe, Cassidy Zappacosta.
Assists:
F&M: Kiki Foster 2, Virginia Rollins, Eileen Keever, Alexis O'Meara
Gettysburg: Julika Blankenship 4, Kate Lowe 2, Jenn Kelly, Dawn Mennen, Ellie Shihadeh
Shots: F&M 21, Gburg 29
Ground Balls: F&M 21, Gburg 32
Goalies: F&M (Kim Pleasants - 60:00, 7 saves, 14 GA)
Gburg (Liz Borucki - 60:00, 6 saves, 8 GA)
Draw Controls: F&M 17, Gburg 7
Caused Turnovers: F&M 7, Gburg 9
Turnovers: F&M 23, Gburg 16
Fouls: F&M 18, Gburg 18
Free Position: F&M 2 of 6, Gburg 2 of 6
