GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 6 Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team had four different players record hat tricks during an 18-7 win at Messiah on Wednesday night. The Diplomats (3-1) have now won three straight after they scored nine of their 18 goals during the first quarter against the host Falcons during the mid-week matchup.
Lydia Cassilly and Lauren Pittman led Franklin & Marshall by scoring five goals each, with Cassilly adding two more assists for a team-best seven points. Gillian Brennan and Lane Lambeth also recorded hat tricks with three goals each during the victory. Defensively, the Diplomats allowed just three total goals during the final 45 minutes of regulation time.
Both Pittman and Cassilly had their respective hat tricks wrapped up by the end of the fast-paced first quarter after which the Diplomats held a 9-4 advantage. Pittman's third goal of the game came with 4:27 remaining in the first quarter, while Cassilly tallied her third goal of the night with seven seconds to play in the opening period. Lambeth was also well on her way to a hat trick with a pair of first period goals.
Pittman scored her fourth and fifth goals of the night during the second quarter as the Diplomats held a 5-0 advantage during those 15 minutes and were leading 14-4 heading into the break. Claire Book added her name to the score sheet during at the 3:28 mark of that period. F&M allowed just one goal during the third quarter and eventually reached a game-high 13-goal advantage with 13:31 to play in the fourth quarter when Skylar Holmes scored the second goal of her collegiate career.
Franklin & Marshall finished the contest with a 33-14 advantage in shots and won 18 of the 26 draw controls on the evening. The Diplomats additionally held Messiah to 10-of-19 on its clearing attempts. Sarah Bowyer won a team-high six draw controls, with Pittman adding four more wins off of those restarts. Izzy Deubner was a standout on the defensive side of the field as she led the team in both ground balls (4) and caused turnovers (3). Alyssa Moran made two saves in goal during the first 45 minutes before Sara DiGiovanni closed out the game in goal during the fourth quarter.
Women's lacrosse will now look forward to an annual highlight of the team's schedule when they head to Orlando, Florida during the College's week of Spring Break. While in the Sunshine State, the Diplomats will play both Denison and St. Mary's (Md.) on Tuesday, March 12. Denison will be the first of those two matchups next Tuesday in a rematch of last year's Sweet 16 contest.
