LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall scored five straight goals to close out the first half and take firm control on Saturday afternoon, eventually dealing Haverford a 14-3 defeat in Centennial Conference (CC) women's lacrosse action. The Diplomats moved to 8-1, 2-0 CC with the win, while the Fords fell to 5-4, 1-1.

Haverford struck first after just three minutes of play to take a 1-0 lead, but the remainder of the half belonged to F&M. Maddie Hughes took a feed from Gabby Frank with 23:02 left on the clock to tie the game at 1-1 before Caroline Kolva's unassisted tally with 14 minutes left in the half gave the Diplomats a 2-1 edge.

F&M extended that lead to 5-1 in the remaining minutes of the frame as Frank notched three consecutive goals, one from Hughes, another from Paige Moriarty, and a third from Bridget O'Donnell. At halftime the Diplomats owned a four-lead and a commanding 15-7 advantage in shots.

During the halftime break, F&M honored its 2007 team on the 10-year anniversary of the season that saw the Diplomats win their first national and Centennial Conference titles. 

After the break, the deficit continued to grow early in the second as Natalie Delinsky scored an unassisted goal and Hughes marked her second of the day to extend the lead to 7-1. The Fords cut the advantage to 7-2 with 14:21 left, but F&M responded with a six-goal onslaught over the next seven minutes to push the game out of reach. Moriarty and Grace Norley both scored twice in the run, while Frank and Hannah Serling added goals to make the score 13-2.

The final minutes saw Haverford score to make it 13-3 before Siobhan Burke cashed in a feed from Eileen Cuneo with 25 ticks remaining, bringing the deficit to its final count of 14-3.

Frank led the offense with four goals an assist on the day. Moriarty added three assists to her pair of goals, while Hughes and Norley also tallied two scores each.

Maggie Hanzsche and Rachael Consoli both recorded a pair of caused turnovers to lead the defense, while Sarah Bozzo scooped up three ground balls to pace the Diplomats.

Danielle Harrington (8-1) earned the win for F&M, making four saves in 57 minutes of action, while Rachel Romens (3-4) took the loss for Haverford, giving up 13 goals and making nine saves.

The Diplomats return to action on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., hosting No. 1 Gettysburg for a showdown of perennial CC and national powerhouses.