Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Lexie Hearn's lone goal was the difference as No. 7 Gettysburg toppled No. 4 Franklin & Marshall 8-7 on the battlefield. The Bullets' win snapped a seven-game skid against the Diplomats, and made Gettysburg the site for next weekend's Centennial Conference (CC) championships.

Hearn's goal, a quick stick finish from Lindsey Robinson, held up as the game-winner. Robinson finished the game with a pair of the assists. The other helper was an artful flip to Nina Emala as Robinson was falling to the ground in the first half. Hearn also had a pair of assists for Gettysburg (14-2, 8-0 CC).

F&M (11-2, 7-1 CC) got the early jump after Gettysburg's opening possession ended with a brilliant Lidia Sanza save. The Diplomats marched to the opposite end of the field where Meredith Lussier inserted a high feed to Blake Hargest camped on the right post at 28:13.

Gettysburg quickly knotted the game as Jessica Crane scored on the free position 1:02 later. Crane finished the game with three goals, two coming from the eight-meter mark. The Bullets scored on three-of-four free position attempts in the game. Nina Emala's free position goal at 18:32 of the first gave Gettysburg its first lead of the game. The Diplomats tied it up at 3-3 on a three perfect passes ending with Hargest setting up Lauren Erhardt for an easy tally at the 17:54 mark.

That's when the Diplomats' attack began to sputter. F&M went the next 14 minutes without a goal. During that stretch, Crane and Emala struck to make it 5-3, but Maggie Mae Shields bounced a shot off of Gettysburg's keeper, Kristen Krammer to make it 5-4 late in the half.

The 14 minute drought was a harbinger of things to come. Following Shields' marker, F&M's guns went silent for 23:24. The Diplomats' attack was hampered by a season high 19 turnovers, nine of which were unforced, and the bulk of which occurred in the scoreless stretch. Between the errant passes and the Bullets' defense, F&M mustered a season-low 13 shots compared to the 24 fired by the Bullets. The Diplomats' previous low was 24 shots at Salisbury, the last time F&M dropped a contest.

Despite the drought, Gettysburg was unable to build a substantial lead, netting only Crane's second free position marker in the stretch. Lussier broke the Diplomats' silence making it 6-5 with a little over ten minutes in the game. Lussier finished a solid solo effort through traffic. She had pulled the same feat earlier in the game, cutting through three defenders to net the first of her pair on the night.

Three minutes later, Gettysburg's Lexie Hearn rolled around the crease to feed a Hollis Stahl quick stick on a play that the pair successfully employed in the first half. Hearn then stretched it to 8-5 with 6:30 left before F&M finally developed a sense of urgency.

A restart on a yellow card allowed Hargest to feed Serpe at 5:24 to make it 8-6. Lussier then found Katie Delaney to finish a transition run making it 8-7 with 3:57 showing.

The Diplomats had possession with over two minutes remaining, but Emily Gaffney forced the Diplomats' final turnover of the night with 2:10 showing. The Bullets successfully ran out the clock from there.

Sanza's stellar play was the only reason F&M was able to remain in the game late. She stopped nine shots and had to work for all of them. Krammer needed only a pair to secure the win for then hosts. The Bullets dominated the draws 11-6, and lengthy possessions prevented F&M from ever establishing rhythm.

Gettysburg's win was the first time in seven tries that any member of the roster had beaten F&M. The Bullets have never managed to score in double figures on Sanza.

F&M returns to action on Friday night at No. 3 College of New Jersey before closing out the regular season on Saturday at Haverford.

Franklin & Marshall (11-2, 7-1 CC) vs. Gettysburg (14-2, 8-0 CC)

SCORE BY PERIOD 1 2 Tot

Franklin & Marshall. 4 3 - 7

Gettysburg.......... 5 3 - 8

Franklin & Marshall SCORING: GOALS: Meredith Lussier 2; Blake Hargest 1; Cat Serpe 1; Lauren Ehrhardt 1; Maggie Mae Shields 1; Katie Delaney 1.

ASSISTS: Blake Hargest 2; Meredith Lussier 2; Cat Serpe 1.

Gettysburg SCORING: GOALS: Jessica Crane 3; Hollis Stahl 2; Nina Emala 2; Lexie Hearn 1.

ASSISTS: Lexie Hearn 2; Lindsey Robinson 2.

Franklin & Marshall GROUND BALLS: Lidia Sanza 4; Meredith Lussier 3; Maggie Mae Shields 3; Blake Hargest 2; Cat Serpe 2; Paulette Cutruzzula 1; Casey Downie 1; Erin Dunne 1; Amanda Miceli 1.

Gettysburg GROUND BALLS: Jessica Crane 4; Anna Scanlan 4; Hollis Stahl 2; Nicole Ditillo 1; Nina Emala 1; Emily Gaffney 1; Lexie Hearn 1; Becky Lutz 1; Lindsay Menton 1.

Franklin & Marshall TURNOVERS CAUSED: Erin Dunne 2; Meredith Lussier 2; Maggie Mae Shields 2; Paulette Cutruzzula 1; Casey Downie 1; Lauren Ehrhardt 1; Blake Hargest 1; Lidia Sanza 1.

Gettysburg TURNOVERS CAUSED: Jessica Crane 4; Anna Scanlan 3; Emily Gaffney 1; Lexie Hearn 1; Kristen Krammer 1.

SHOTS - Franklin & Marshall 13; Gettysburg 24.

SHOTS ON GOAL - Franklin & Marshall 9; Gettysburg 17.

TURNOVERS - Franklin & Marshall 19; Gettysburg 15.

FACEOFFS - Franklin & Marshall 0-0; Gettysburg 0-0.

CLEARS - Franklin & Marshall 13-16; Gettysburg 12-16.

GOALIES - F&M: Lidia Sanza 11-2 (60:00 minutes, 17 shots-9 saves, 8 GA); GC: Kristen Krammer 13-2 (60:00, 9-2, 7).