LANCASTER, Pa. – The No. 9 Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team dropped a 10-8 battle against No. 6 Salisbury in a showdown of perennial Division III powers on Sunday afternoon. The Diplomats scored three straight to open the fourth quarter as they tied the game at eight-all before the visiting Sea Gulls tallied twice in the final five-plus minutes for the top 10 victory.

Maddy Birch finished with a hat trick as she scored the final two goals of F&M's comeback bid, knotting the game with just under 11 minutes to play. Lane Lambeth added two more goals on Sunday, while Lydia Cassilly had a goal and an assist.

Salisbury goalie Kaitlyn Hunsinger was huge in the opening half as she stopped eight of F&M's first 12 shots on goal. Salisbury was out to a 4-1 lead before Birch converted an advantage chance for the Diplomats. Trailing 5-2 late in the second half, Gillian Brennan and Lambeth each converted chances to set the score at 6-4 before the teams headed to the locker rooms.

With Franklin & Marshall looking to rally, Alyssa Moran made six huge saves during the second half, four of which came during the third quarter of action. The Diplomats got within a single goal when Lambeth took a feed from Birch just 42 seconds in the second half to make the score 6-5, but the Sea Gulls would not relent on their lead and were up 8-5 heading into the final 15 minutes.

Undeterred, the Diplomats scored three goals in just over four minutes to begin the final period. A free-position goal from Madison Bray got the F&M attack started just 38 seconds into the final quarter. Birch ultimately tied the score with her final two goals just over two minutes apart, setting the score at eight-all with 10:42 remaining in regulation time.

Franklin & Marshall continued to have the better of the chances in the attacking zone, including a shot that rung off the crossbar with just over six minutes to go. Salisbury capitalized during the team's next chance as the Diplomats were issued a yellow care and the Sea Gulls converted that extra player chance just under 50 seconds later. Salisbury went on to add an insurance goal just one minute later.

The F&M defense forced a second clock violation with just 2:39 left in the final quarter, but the Diplomats were whistled for a dangerous shot on their ensuing attack. The card gave the Sea Gulls possession where they were able to keep the possession with F&M a player down for the remainder of regulation.

Alyssa Moran made a game-high 10 saves in goal as the Sea Gulls maintained a 31-26 edge in shots and a slight 12-10 edge in draw controls. F&M finished the contest with an 18-14 advantage in ground balls. Belle Dintino and Moran each came away with four ground balls for the Diplomats. Lambeth led F&M with four draw controls.

Today's top 10 showdown marked the Diplomats' final non-conference game of the regular season. Franklin & Marshall will resume Centennial Conference play this coming Wednesday, April 5 at McDaniel with a 4:30 p.m. start. The team returns to Shadek Stadium next Saturday, April 8 for a 12 p.m. opening draw against Ursinus.