April 30, 2006

GETTYSBURG, PA - Katie Hagan scored two second half goals as part of a three goal performance to lead #1 Gettysburg College to an 8-6 victory over #8 Franklin & Marshall College in the 2006 Centennial Conference women's lacrosse championship game at Gettysburg's Clark Field.

The Bullets (18-0, 9-0 Centennial Conference) captured their sixth Centennial Conference title as Gettysburg previously won the 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 crowns, while F&M (13-4, 8-1 Centennial Conference) fell to the Bullets in the Centennial Conference title game for the fourth consecutive year following losses in 2003 (8-6 L) and 2004 (14-8 L) in Gettysburg and 2005 (11-8 L) in Lancaster

Trailing 5-3 at halftime, the Bullets tied the score less than eight minutes into the second half as Jen Betts scored an unassisted goal at 27:43 and Hagan tallied a free position goal at 22:06 to knot the game at 5-5.

The Bullets took their first lead of the day with 16:26 left on the game clock as Jenn Kelly netted an unassisted goal to go ahead 6-5, but Shannon Summers (Fr., North Wales, PA/The Hill School) answered for the Diplomats by collecting a loose ball in front the crease and firing a sidearm shot past Gettysburg goalie Heather Kelley to even the score at 6-6 with 8:50 to play.

Gettysburg tallied the game-winner at the 5:12 mark as 2006 Centennial Conference Player of the Year Katie Ceglarski fired a one-timer into the upper left corner of the goal for a 7-6 lead.

Needing a turnover to regain possession of the ball with 1:13 left on the clock, F&M goalie Kamissa Mort (Sr., Ashton, MD/Sandy Spring) left the cage to pressure the Gettysburg attack, but Hagan tallied a goal off an assist from Ellie Shihadeh into an open goalmouth for the 8-6 final score.

The game appeared to be an F&M rout in the early going as the Diplomats built a 5-1 lead in the first 24 minutes of play before the Bullets inched back to within 5-3 before halftime.

Kelly Cassels (Jr., Downingtown, PA/Great Valley) opened the scoring for F&M at the 26:27 mark of the first half as she finished a pass from Sarah Meisenberg (Fr., Severna Park, MD/Severn), but Krissy Browning responded for the Bullets with a goal off an assist from Kelly at 22:01 to tie the score at 1-1.

The Diplomats scored the next four goals as Catherine Onnen (So., Lutherville, MD/St. Paul's School for Girls) scored a free position goal at 16:22 and Meisenberg netted an unassisted goal at 15:31 before Jen Pritchard (Fr., Media, PA/Penncrest) and Kiki Foster (Sr., Denver, CO/Kent Denver) chipped in free position goals at 14:53 and 6:12, respectively.

Gettysburg trimmed the lead back to 5-3 before the break as Hagan scored a free position goal at 4:06 and Megan Moore found Shihadeh for a score with 19 seconds left in the first half to set up the Bullets rally and win.

In goal, Mort made five saves on 20 Gettysburg shots in taking the loss, while Kelley earned the making 11 saves on 21 F&M shots.

Franklin & Marshall (13-4, 8-1 Centennial Conference) will now await word from the National Collegiate Athletic Association regarding a possible at-large bid to the NCAA's national championship playoffs. The announcement will be made on Sunday, May 7 between 9 and 10 p.m. on College Sports Television.

College Sports Television is available on local cable systems around the country and also via satellite on Dish Network channel 152 and DirecTV channel 610. More information log on to www.CSTV.com

Score by Half 1-2 - Final #8 Franklin & Marshall (13-4, 8-1 CC) 5-1 - 6 #1 Gettysburg (18-0, 9-0 CC) 3-5 - 8

Goals: Franklin & Marshall: Sarah Meisenberg (1), Jen Pritchard (1), Shannon Summers (1), Kiki Foster (1), Kelly Cassels (1), Catherine Onnen (1) Gettysburg: Katie Hagan (3), Jenn Kelly (1), Ellie Shihadeh (1), Katie Ceglarski (1), Krissy Browning (1), Jen Betts (1)

Assists: Franklin & Marshall: Sarah Meisenberg (1) Gettysburg: Jenn Kelly (2), Megan Moore (1), Ellie Shihadeh (1)

Shots: F&M 21, Gettysburg 20

Goalies: F&M - Kamissa Mort - 60:00, 5 saves, 8 GA Gettysburg - Heather Kelley - 60:00, 11 saves, 6 GA

Draw Controls: F&M 10-for-16, Gettysburg 6-for-10

Free Position: F&M 3-for-4, Gettysburg 3-for-4

Fouls: F&M 19, Gettysburg 15

Ground Balls: F&M 20, Gettysburg 17

Turnovers: F&M 12, Gettysburg 14