LANCASTER, Pa. – The No. 7 Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team raced out to a 15-3 first half lead and never looked back during its Centennial Conference opener against Muhlenberg on Saturday. The Diplomats were up by double digits with over seven minutes to play in the opening half and would eventually cruise to the 19-5 victory.

Twelve different F&M players scored in the Centennial Conference opener. That listed of scorers was headlined by a trio of hat tricks from Gillian Brennan, Lane Lambeth, and Lauren Pittman. Madison Bray, Abby Gravel, Kate McLam, Sydney Lowe, and Sarah Delaney also registered multiple points during the Centennial Conference win.

It was the Mules who scored first to start the conference opener as Muhlenberg came into Saturday's contest riding a 7-0 undefeated start to its 2023 season. Nevertheless, things quickly turned in the Diplomats favor when they scored five in a row and eight of the next nine to take an 8-2 lead after just one period. Maddy Birch, Megan Bizub, and Lydia Cassilly each recorded their goals during those opening 15 minutes, while Brennan tallied twice during the first quarter.

The Mules scored the first goal during each of the first three periods, but were countered with an onslaught that followed each of those instances. After making the score 8-3 early in the second, F&M closed the half on 7-0 run that saw Claire Book, add her name to the score sheet in addition to a slew of other multiple point producers.

With the lead in hand, Franklin & Marshall controlled the tempo of the second half, adding four of the game's final five tallies, to finalize the 19-5 win. All four of F&M's goalies saw action as Alyssa Moran played the entire first half, making a pair of saves. Molly Donatelli made one save during her time in cage during the third period. Sara DiGiovanni and Emily Toft went basically untested as they split the final 15 minutes of game action.

Franklin & Marshall tripled up Muhlenberg with a 21-7 advantage in draw controls, while the Diplomats more than doubled up the Mules in shot attempts, 36-14. Sarah Bowyer was exceptionally strong on the restarts, collecting six draw controls. Belle Dintino, Caroline Findlay, Lambeth, and Bray also secured the possession for Franklin & Marshall multiple times following restarts. Dintino additionally caused a pair of turnovers during the few chances Muhlenberg had the ball in its possession.

Today's contest started a busy stretch for the Diplomats as they will next travel to Catholic this coming Wednesday before returning to CC Action at Swarthmore next Saturday. That will be the first of back-to-back games as the Diplomats return to Shadek Stadium for a national showdown with No. 6 Salisbury on Sunday, April 2.