YORK, Pa. – The No. 6 Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team topped No. 7 York (Pa.) in a battle of two national powers on Wednesday evening. The Diplomats (2-1) jumped out to an early lead with a 4-0 run out of the gates and then held the Spartans (0-1) scoreless for over 28 minutes during the second through fourth quarters of the 14-10 road victory.
Lane Lambeth led three F&M hat tricks with five goals on the evening, with Lydia Cassilly and Lauren Pittman also contributing three goals each. Madison Bray matched the team high of five points with one goal while dishing out four assists in addition to goals from Gillian Brennan and Devyn Crone during the win.
Lambeth wasted little time getting her terrific night started as she scored twice in the first two and a half minutes of F&M's early push to the 4-0 lead. That was followed by fellow hat trick performers Cassilly and Pittman getting their offensive explosions started as F&M was up 4-0 less than seven minutes into the nationally-ranked showdown.
York (Pa.) rallied back with a four goal run of its own, tying the score at four-all with 2:59 to play in a fast-paced opening quarter. Nevertheless, the Diplomats would not trail all evening as Cassilly and Pittman scored within a minute of each other for the second time and the Diplomats took a 6-4 edge into the second period. The Spartans did manage to tie the game at seven late in the second period, but Lambeth added two more goals during the second quarter as the Diplomats were up 8-7 at the break.
The Spartans scored their final goal of the first half with 3:34 remaining before the break. They would score just twice the rest of the evening. Following a 4-0 run to start the game, the Diplomats ripped off five unanswered goals during that defensive lockdown to fully take control of the game. F&M's lead sat at 12-7 after Pittman capped her hat trick and the hosts were finally able to break the lock that the Diplomats' defense had on the game. Franklin & Marshall held its largest lead of the night at 14-8 when Cassilly and Lambeth put the finishing touches on their fine offensive outings. York (Pa.) closed the gap slightly with two goals during the final minutes of regulation.
Franklin & Marshall finished with the advantage in shots (32-23), shots on goal (27-16), and ground balls (15-9), while both sides finished with four free-position goals and a basically even draw control. In addition to another strong offensive display, Pittman continued to show her versatility as the reigning Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week led her team with four ground balls and two caused turnovers. Kate McLam added two caused turnovers to the defensive effort which helped limit York (Pa.) to just 13-of-22 on its clear attempts. Lambeth finished her night as one five players with multiple draw controls, leading F&M with four wins off of the restarts. Alyssa Moran was called on to make six saves against the No. 7 Spartans while registering the win in goal.
Women's lacrosse now has the upcoming weekend away from games as the team sets its sights on a road trip to Messiah on Wednesday, March 6. That matchup with the No. 25 Falcons will be a 6 p.m. opening draw in Grantham.
