LANCASTER, Pa. – Fresh off the 2023 Centennial Conference Championship and a trip to the NCAA Final Four where only a defeat against the eventual national champions was able to stop its momentum, the Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team returns plenty of talent for another deep playoff run this spring. Six of the Diplomats' seven All-Centennial Conference selections from 2023 – including four of the team's five All-Americans – return for the 2024 campaign that will look to add to the program's storied history.
Position Breakdown
Attack
Junior Lydia Cassilly looks to be one of the top attacking options in not only the conference, but the country as she has scored 104 goals and assisted on 54 more while starting every game during her first two seasons. A second-team All-American last season, she already holds top 15 marks in program history for goals (2.31), assists (1.20), and points (3.51) per game. Senior Gillian Brennan and sophomore Lauren Pittman were also all-conference performers for the Diplomats last season. In 2023, Brennan recorded her second straight 30-plus goal season with a career-high 38 goals in addition to 25 assists. She enters her senior season just outside of the top 20 in program history with 56 career assists. Pittman burst onto the scene during her rookie campaign with 51 goals and 19 assists. Seven of her goals were game-winning efforts throughout her first-year campaign.
Kate McLam is another experienced option that the Diplomats can look to as she has 32 goals and 32 assists throughout her career which has spanned 48 games. Fellow senior Amelia McCarthy scored her first career goal last spring and has played in 18 career lacrosse games in addition to her prowess as a member of the field hockey program. Devyn Crone and Liv Cooper also got into the offensive during their rookie seasons. Crone played in 16 games and registered 16 points, tallying six goals and 10 assists. Cooper saw time in 10 contests, scoring three goals and assisting on one other.
Newcomers: Avery Briggs, Skylar Holmes
Midfield
Senior Madison Bray earned first-team All-America honors from USA Lacrosse last season, while Lane Lambeth received honorable mention recognition from that same organization. Bray has made perhaps her biggest impact on draws where she owns 192 for her career to rank first in program history with an average of 3.76 per game. However, she is also a threat on the attacking end with 34 goals and 31 assists throughout her career and is on pace for over 100 career points. Lambeth provides another strong scoring option out of the midfield where she found the back of the cage 40 times last season while adding 47 draw controls, 25 ground balls, and 14 caused turnovers to her well-rounded contributions.
Several other Diplomats have seen substantial playing time during the previous seasons and will look to use that experience during the coming spring. Senior Sarah Bowyer has played in 41 games during the past two seasons and was a strong option for taking the draws last spring where she has won 28 of those attempts since 2022. Juniors Megan Bizub and Adde Hollander have played in 43 and 30 games, respectively, during their F&M careers. Bizub has 17 career points while Hollander has scored eight times throughout her career. Sophomore Julia Carbon played in 17 games during her rookie campaign, contributing 16 draw controls. Classmates Claire Book and Myranda Beebe will look to use their experience this spring as they played in 14 and eight contests, respectively, during the Diplomats' Final Four run.
Newcomers: Melina Lange, Emma Smith
Defense
Belle Dintino emerged as a leader of the defense early in her career, earning first-team All-Centennial Conference and second-team USA Lacrosse All-America honors during her rookie season. A starter from the first game, she picked up 42 ground balls and caused 27 turnovers last season. The defensive unit is very experienced as a unit, with senior Delaney Liston having started 43 of her 44 games played since the 2022 season. She collected 31 ground balls and caused nine turnovers last season. Juniors Izzy Deubner and Izzy Spagnuolo have also been starters for the Diplomats. Deubner has started 40 of her 43 career appearances and has 19 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers to her credit. Spagnuolo started all 22 contests during the 2022 and played in 20 more last spring.
Senior Caroline Findlay also brings a wealth of experience to the team with 43 career games played. She is coming off of a 2023 season that saw her set new career highs in both ground balls (19) and caused turnovers (7). Junior Ellen Kelly appeared in 17 games for the Diplomats last spring, picking up 11 ground balls. Sophomores Mia Geignetter (11 games played) and Lucy Rogers (nine games played) also saw time in multiple contests last year and will look to build on that experience this spring.
Newcomers: Sophia Geibel, Gretta Harnish, Mary Katherine Savio
Goalie
Alyssa Moran stepped into the starting goalie role last spring and helped F&M to an 18-5 record. Her 18 victories as the goalie of record were the third-most in program history as she allowed just 10.8 goals per game and stopped nearly 40 percent of the shots she faced. With all of her stats coming primarily from last season, Moran already ranks 16th in school history with 145 career saves heading into her senior season. Sophomore Sara DiGiovanni served as a strong backup last season where she appeared in six games and allowed just 5.66 goals per game while logging 53 minutes in goal.
Newcomers: Mary Scally
Schedule
The Diplomats enter the 2024 season as the fourth ranked team in the country according to the ILWomen/IWLCA National Poll. The Diplomats will play seven games against teams ranked in the preseason top 25, highlighted by five contests against teams in the preseason top 10. That list includes both preseason No. 1 Middlebury (March 19) and second-ranked Gettysburg (April 17), along with match-ups against No. 6 York (Pa.) (Feb. 28), No. 7 Washington and Lee (Feb. 18), and No. 9 Salisbury (April 7). Nationally-ranked battles against No. Messiah (March 6) and No. 25 Denison (March 12) will be additional highlights to the non-conference schedule.
The 2024 season gets underway in Virginia on Sunday, February 18 with the aforementioned nationally-ranked showdown versus Washington and Lee. The 2024 home opener is set for Saturday, February 24 against Catholic inside Shadek Stadium and will be one of eight chances to catch the Diplomats at home throughout the regular season.
Centennial Conference Preseason Poll
Despite avenging their regular season loss to the Bullets en route to the 2023 Centennial Conference Championship, coaches favored Gettysburg to capture the 2024 conference title in a preseason vote of the conference's head coaches. F&M received three first-place votes in the poll, while the Bullets claimed the other seven. Haverford, Washington College, Ursinus, and Muhlenberg were predicted to claim the final four playoff spots which will be allocated to the top six teams from the regular season standings. The Mules will be F&M's first Centennial Conference opponent of the 2024 season when they line up for the opening draw on Saturday, March 23.
Coaching Staff
Head coach Mike Faith enters his 12th season on the Diplomats where he has led the Diplomats to the NCAA Tournament in every season that the national tournament has been held. That success includes making his third appearance at the Final Four during the 2023 season. The Diplomats have won four Centennial Conference Championships under his watch (2015, 17, 21, 23). His overall record as a college head coach is 270-90. Corryne Sulpizio, who was also a member of the 2023 Metro Region Coaching Staff of the Year last season, returns as an assistant for her second season. New to the staff this year is Chris Tongel who will assist with the team's goalies.
