CLEARWATER, Fla. – Recently moving up to No. 5 in the latest national rankings, the Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team proved worthy of that ranking on Tuesday as the Diplomats posted two convincing victories against No. 25 Denison and St. Mary's (Md.) during the team's trip to Florida. Starting the day with a rematch of last season's Sweet 16 matchup against Denison, the Diplomats came away with a 19-11 victory before posting a 20-10 win against St. Mary's (Md.) during the afternoon.
#5 Franklin & Marshall 19, #25 Denison 11
Florida native Lauren Pittman made herself right at home again as she registered a career-high seven points last year versus Shenandoah during F&M's Spring Break trip. She eclipsed that total on Tuesday with a career-high seven goals and nine points during the Diplomats 19-11 victory. Pittman needed just eight shots on goal to do so as she also collected seven draw controls. Lydia Cassilly recorded another hat trick with three goals and three assists, while Lane Lambeth and Claire Book both scored twice during the victory.
The Diplomats and Big Red were tied at four-all after 15 minutes of play, while Denison took a 5-4 lead with the first goal of the second quarter. However, F&M scored the next seven goals to take an 11-5 lead after which they never looked back. Pittman scored the first three goals of that offensive run, with Kate McLam and Gillian Brennan getting onto the scoresheet as two of the nine Diplomats to score during the opening game.
Denison trimmed the deficit down to 12-9 with 2:49 to play in the third quarter after scoring four of the next five goals. Unfazed, the Diplomats scored six of the next seven goals – with many of those aiding a 6-2 fourth quarter advantage – to extend the lead to 18-10 before the eventual 19-11 final. Devyn Crone, Madison Bray, and Julia Carbon added their names to the list of goal scorers during the final period as F&M put an exclamation point on its victory.
Franklin & Marshall finished the game with 40 shots, compared to just 27 for the Big Red. The Diplomats also held the edge in both ground balls (20-18) and draw controls (17-16). Belle Dintino led the team with five ground balls, while Caroline Findlay caused a pair of turnovers. Alyssa Moran made six saves in nearly 56 minutes of game action before Mary Scally went untested during the remaining time in the cage. Denison scored seven of its goals on free-position attempts during the game.
#5 Franklin & Marshall 20, St. Mary's (Md.) 10
A short break did not cool down the Diplomats' attack as F&M scored 13 times during the opening half of its 20-10 victory against St. Mary's (Md.). Brennan paced the attack in this game with five goals and one assist, while Lambeth added three more to the winning total. Cassilly, Book, and Avery Briggs all added two goals and were among 11 different goal scorers which included the first in the careers of both Emma Smith and Greta Harnish.
The Diplomats outshot the Sea Gulls 23-10 during the first half as they raced out to the early lead and finished the contest with a 35-21 advantage in shots. The Sea Gulls struck first during the afternoon matchup, but the Diplomats ran off the next six goals. However, the biggest run was yet to come as F&M scored nine consecutive goals starting at the 8:33 mark of the second period and continuing until there was 6:35 remaining in the third quarter. The game's largest run put the Diplomats up 16-4. The Sea Gulls scored four straight on their own to bring the deficit back to single digits, but F&M closed on a high note with three of the contest's final four tallies.
Sarah Bowyer helped F&M to an 18-12 advantage in draw controls against St. Mary's (Md.) with a game-high seven wins off of the restarts. Cassilly, Sophia Geibel, and Ellen Kelly each secured multiple ground balls throughout the win, while four different players caused a turnover. Moran and Scally once again split the time in goal. Moran played just over 36 minutes and made three saves to pick up the victory before Scally stopped two shots over the final 23:05 of regulation time.
Women's lacrosse will now enjoy the rest of its time in Florida while also beginning its preparation for No. 1 Middlebury as that Final Four rematch from last spring is set for Tuesday, March 19 at 4 p.m. at the USA Lacrosse Headquarters. The contest against the defending national champions will be the Diplomats' final preparations before Centennial Conference play beings that weekend.
