SCRANTON, PA - Midfielder Kelly Cassels (So., Downingtown, PA/Great Valley) scored three goals and assisted on another to lead #10 Franklin & Marshall College to a 12-8 victory over Centennial Conference foe McDaniel College in the championship game of the 2005 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Southern Region Women's Lacrosse Championships at Fitzpatrick Field on the campus of the University of Scranton.

Attacker Kiki Foster (Jr., Denver, CO/Kent Denver) contributed three goals, while midfielders Brenna Dolphin (So., Wilmington, DE/Archmere Academy) and Abby Kaplan (Fr., Bethesda, MD/Bullis) added pairs of goals as the Diplomats finish the season with a 14-3 record.

The victory gives the Diplomats their second ECAC title in three years and ties the 2003 ECAC champions (14-5) for the second most season wins in school history behind the 1991 Middle Atlantic Conference championship team (15-1).

The tale of the game was the Diplomats' youth and defense as Franklin & Marshall played in the ECAC Tournament without the senior class of attacker Alexis O'Meara (Sr., Millersville, MD/Severn School), midfielder Allison O'Meara (Sr., Annapolis, MD/Severn School) and defender Julie Rice (Sr., Worton, MD/Kent) who graduated from F&M today in Lancaster.

Trailing 4-2 after the opening 15 minutes of the first-half, the Diplomats' defense held the Green Terror to four goals the rest of the way. The offense then took over the game as unassisted goals by Foster, Kaplan and Cassels at the 20:45, 24:29 and 26:17 marks, respectively, sparked the Diplomats to a 5-4 lead en route to a 7-5 advantage by intermission.

The story of the first half was the play of Foster and Cassels who combined for five goals in the opening 30 minutes of play.

An unassisted goal by Cassels and the game-winning goal by midfielder Eileen Keever (Jr., Prospect Park, PA/Interboro) off an assist from midfielder Sloan Giampa (So., Cortlandt Manor, NY/Yorktown) at the 31:09 and 34:50 marks, respectively, extended the Diplomats' lead to 9-5. The Green Terror scored twice within a 17-second span on unassisted goals by midfielders Kristin Ramey and Megan Mattson to cut the lead to 9-7.

Franklin & Marshall sealed the win with three straight unassisted goals by defender Beverly Menghetti (So., Glen Mills, PA/Penncrest), Dolphin and Kaplan at the 41:35, 51:19 and 53:05 marks to regain the momentum and take a 12-7 lead. Tara Smith scored off a free position shot at the 56:25 mark for McDaniel to set the final score.

In goal, Kamissa Mort (Jr., Ashton, MD/Sandy Spring) made three saves to improve to 13-2 on the season, while McDaniel's Lindsay O'Steen was credited with 10 saves in the loss.

Cassels was the star of the tournament for the Diplomats tallying eight goals and handing out one assist for nine points in the tournament, including a five-goal performance in a 16-7 win over Montclair State University in the semifinals on May 14.

Further, Foster's three-goal performance raised her career-scoring total to 114 goals and 29 assists for 143 points as she moved into a tie with Megan McGowan '95 for 14th in goals and remained 19th in points in program history.

The title game marked the third meeting of the year between the two Centennial Conference rivals as F&M defeated the Green Terror 11-7 on April 6 in Lancaster during the regular season and 17-6 on April 30 in the semifinals of the 2005 Centennial Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship playoffs.

Further, the title tilt was a rematch of last year's tournament opener as the Diplomats fell to McDaniel 6-5 in the first round the 2004 ECAC Tournament.

Overall, the Diplomats inclusion in the 2005 tournament marked the sixth appearance by F&M in the ECAC women's lacrosse playoffs following back-to-back bids in 1995 and 1996. In 1995, host and #1 seed Franklin & Marshall defeated Albany in the semi-final round by a 15-9 final before falling to #2 seed Gettysburg College 8-6 at Williamson Field in the title game. F&M fell again in 1996 as Ithaca College won an opening round road shootout, 19-14. In 2001, the Diplomats defeated the University of Scranton (12-9 W) in the opening round, but fell to Gettysburg College (11-9 L) in the semifinals. Franklin & Marshall won the 2003 title as the Diplomats defeated Drew University (17-13 W) and Washington College (15-6 W).

Score by Half 1-2 - Final
McDaniel (12-6, 5-4 CC) 5-3 - 8
#10 Franklin & Marshall (14-3, 9-0 CC) 7-5 - 12

Goals:
F&M - Kelly Cassels (5), Kiki Foster (3), Brenna Dolphin (2), Abby Kaplan (2), Beverly Menghetti (1), Eileen Keever (1)
McDaniel - Tara Smith (2), Connie Wuenschel (2), Lindsay Ricks (2), Kristin Ramey (1), Megan Mattson (1)

Assists:
F&M - Catherine Onnen (1), Kelly Cassels (1), Sloan Giampa (1)
McDaniel - Kristin Ramey (1), Caitlin Schellhorn (1)

Goalies: F&M - Kamissa Mort (60 minutes, 3 saves, 8 GA)
McDaniel - Lindsay O'Steen (60 minutes, 10 saves, 12 GA)

Shots: F&M 28, McDaniel 23

Ground Balls: F&M 20, McDaniel 19

Clears: F&M 15-of-17, McDaniel 13-of-16