Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. – Marissa McGarrey's late second-half score lifted Franklin & Marshall's No. 7 women's lacrosse team to a 9-8 win over No. 8 Washington & Lee in the season opener on Saturday afternoon.

The victory in Shadek improved the Diplomats to 1-0 on the season while the Generals fell to 1-1. 

Knotted at 8-8 in the closing minutes of the second half, Jane Cote found McGarrey for the close-range game-winner. The tally was McGarrey's second of the game as the sophomore midfielder finished with a team-leading three points on the afternoon.

Just 1:04 passed in the opening half before Clare Monaghan got F&M on the board with a free-position tally that made it 1-0. W&L answered with two unassisted markers to secure the lead before the Diplomats rattled off five straight goals to take a commanding 6-2 edge with 8:32 remaining in the stanza.

The Generals were held scoreless for a stretch of 20 minutes during the Diplomats' run that included a pair of tallies from Maddy Birch. W&L managed to pause the F&M momentum with a marker at 4:17 that sent the Diplomats into the break with a 6-3 advantage. 

In the second, McGarrey lit the scoreboard off a pass from Cote in the opening seconds to expand F&M's lead to four. However, the Generals responded with four scores in a 10-minute span that evened the contest at 7-7 with 19:58 remaining. 

Tabitha Rodriguez broke the tie at 10:08 thanks to a helper from Cote that put the Diplomats ahead by one. W&L evened the contest at the 4:20 mark, but the Diplomats needed just 40 seconds to recapture the lead for good. 

F&M held the slight 22-20 edge in shots and controlled the action with a 12-7 advantage in draws. Megan Jackson and McGarrey led the offense with two goals and an assist each, while Maddie Birch notched a pair of scores. Cote dished out three assists. 

Ally Marino registered five draw controls while Ava Turner secured four. Anya Chopoorian was credited with three of the team's eight caused turnovers on the day, while she also led the Diplomats in groundballs with five. 

Goalkeeper Emily Kitchin (1-0) notched seven saves in 60 minutes of action while her counterpart Elliot Gilbert (1-1) picked up eight saves on 17 shots.

F&M returns to the field on Wednesday, traveling to No. 6 York for a 5:00 p.m. competition.