LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team took a huge step towards locking up a first round bye in the Centennial Conference Tournament with a back-and-forth 16-14 win against visiting Haverford on Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats celebrated Senior Day prior to the game and honored that class by scoring six of the final eight goals during the Centennial Conference victory. In a matchup of teams that were tied for second place in the conference standings coming into the day, the two sides were tied five times, including twice during the fourth quarter.

Maddy Birch had a huge Senior Day with four goals and three assists, while Gillian Brennan added three goals and one assist. Sydney Lowe and Madison Bray added multiple goals to the winning side. Haverford had a more focused scoring attack as three different players recorded hat tricks, including four goals from Tiffany Mikulis.

Lane Lambeth opened the scoring for the Diplomats, but the Fords answered back with four straight to take the lead. F&M answered that with five consecutive goals of its own to take a 6-4 lead after the opening 15 minutes. Lydia Cassilly's goal gave the Diplomats a 5-4 that held all the way until the third quarter.

The two sides traded goals to a 4-3 Haverford advantage during the second period as the lead eventually went 9-8 to the hosts after just over an hour delay for lightning in the area. Lauren Pittman and Abby Gravel added their names to the score sheet during those 15 minutes. Haverford took an 11-9 lead with three straight goals to start the third quarter before Bray and Lowe helped F&M get the game to within a single goal, 12-11, heading into the final 15 minutes.

Franklin & Marshall tied the game at 12 during the fourth quarter as Brennan found Bray for her second goal of the game at the 10:05 mark. The Fords took the lead less than a minute later, but three straight goals from the Diplomats gave them a lead they would not relinquish. Birch completed her hat trick when she tied the game at 13 before Adde Hollander and Brennan put F&M in front for good. The Fords trimmed the lead down to a single goal on a free-position shot with exactly three minutes to play before Maddy Birch capped her big day with the final tally of the afternoon at the 1:18 mark.

The Diplomats finished with a 35-23 advantage in shots and 14-10 edge in ground balls. Alyssa Moran picked up her 11th win of the season with her four saves on the afternoon. In addition to a pair of goals, Bray led the Diplomats with six draw controls in a category that Haverford led by just one. Delaney Liston aided the defensive efforts with a team-high three ground balls, while Lane Lambeth forced a pair of turnovers from the opposition

With the Diplomats now sitting in firm control of second place in the conference, women's lacrosse wraps up the regular season with a pair of games on the road this coming week. F&M returns to action at Dickinson this Wednesday at 7 p.m. before closing the regular season at Bryn Mawr next Saturday. The Centennial Conference Tournament will begin during the first week in May.