GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 6 Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team used an 8-3 run from the end of the second quarter through the start of the fourth period to take down No. 11 Messiah on the road by a 17-12 final on Wednesday afternoon. Although Messiah tied the game at three different occasions during the first half, F&M never trailed and used that huge run to solidify the nationally-ranked victory.

Lydia Cassilly scored a team-high five goals on the afternoon, with four of those tallies coming throughout the scoring surge to pace the attack. Marissa McGarrey added a hat trick during the win, while Madison Bray, Maddy Birch, and Kate McLam also registered multiple goals. Cassilly added one assist during her six-point outing, with Bray and Birch also dishing out multiple assists as they finished with five and four points, respectively.

The Diplomats' connection of Birch to McGarrey worked twice in the opening four minutes, staking F&M to an early lead. Messiah answered those goals, but McLam's first goal of the afternoon off the feed from Ally Marino kept the visitors in front after one quarter. The score was eventually tied at three and five-all before Cassilly put her team in front for good with two more goals to start the offensive explosion. Lane Lambeth also got on the board just before the end of the first half to make the score 8-5 in favor of F&M after 30 minutes.

After Messiah scored to open the third quarter, F&M recorded five of the next six goals to go up 13-7. Bray and Birch both tallied their two goals during that third quarter run, with Gillian Brennan also getting into the offensive act. A second goal from McLam made it 14-8 before the end of the third quarter, while two more goals from Cassilly during the fourth quarter put F&M up 16-8 for its largest lead of the afternoon. With F&M comfortably in front, the Falcons managed to score four of the game's final five goals, but it was not nearly enough as the Diplomats emerged with a 17-12 victory.

Shots and turnovers were both fairly even after 60 minutes of play, with the Falcons holding a 25-19 advantage in ground balls. Nevertheless, 11 saves from Emily Kitchin helped swing the tide in favor of the Diplomats. The senior also scooped up a team-best five ground balls on the afternoon. Izzy Deubner and Erin Phillips each caused a pair of turnovers to help the defensive effort, with nine different players forcing at least one Messiah giveaway during the contest.

Women's lacrosse will now have nearly a full week to prepare for another nationally-ranked contest as it travels to No. 18 York (Pa.) next Tuesday, March 8 for a 6 p.m. opening draw.