LANCASTER, Pa. – The No. 1-ranked Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team put on another offensive clinic Wednesday afternoon inside Shadek Stadium as the Diplomats (6-0, 4-0 CC) defeated Muhlenberg by a 20-2 score. F&M is now outscoring its opponents by a 103-23 margin this season, an average margin of victory of over 13 goals per contest.

Marissa McGarrey (4 goals, 2 assists) and Ally Marino (4 goals, 1 assist) led the Diplomats' attack while Gillian Brennan additionally recorded a hat trick with three goals and one assist. Those goal scoing totals were season highs for all three players. Gracie Gargiulo scored her first career goal in the contest, while Bridget Kane, Tabitha Rodriguez, Megan Jackson, Juliann Lisovicz, Kate McLam, Sarah Delaney, and Blair Atkins also rattled the back of the cage.

F&M controlled the possession throughout the contest with an 18-5 advantage on draw controls. Rodriguez and McGarrey led the Diplomats in those efforts with six and five draw controls, respectively. With the majority of the possession, Franklin & Marshall racked up a 40-13 advantage in shots during the contest and led 12-0 before the Mules found their first goal with 2:55 remaining in the first half.

Emily Kitchin saw the majority of the action in the crease for the Diplomats and stopped five of the seven shots on goal she faced during her 53-plus minutes on the field. Molly Donatelli stopped both of Muhlenberg's shot attempts during her outing while Alyssa Moran put the finishing touches on the victory. Muhlenberg committed 20 turnovers on the evening as the Mules were just 4-for-10 on clear attempts. Twelve of those turnovers were forced giveaways at the hands of F&M's defense, led by Erin Phillips' two caused turnovers. Phillips also picked up a team-best four ground balls as the Diplomats held a 16-4 edge in that category.

With a 12-1 lead after the opening half, F&M outscored the Mules 8-1 over the final 30 minutes during the eventual 20-2 final. The Diplomats were very efficient in their second half attack, scoring on eight of their 13 shots down the stretch.

Today's win sets up a showdown with No. 5 Gettysburg (5-0, 5-0 CC) this coming Saturday. The winner of that contest will capture the 2021 Centennial Conference Championship which is determined by the final regular season standings this season. The Diplomats will have home field advantage in that top-five matchup which is slated for a 12 p.m. opening draw.