Box Score LANCASTER, Pa. – The newly-minted No. 3 Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team wrapped up the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 21-12 victory against Rowan on Wednesday afternoon. The Diplomats (11-2) used a 13-2 scoring advantage during the middle two quarters to pull away inside Shadek Stadium.
Lydia Cassilly scored a career-high six goals while dishing out one additional assist to match her career high for points as she found the back of the cage during each of her shots on goal. Lane Lambeth and Lauren Pittman also scored three times, which additionally helped Lambeth eclipse the 100 point mark for her career.
Despite Cassilly scoring the game's opening goal, it was Rowan who held an early 4-2 lead and later matched that two-goal advantage at 5-3 midway through the first quarter. Gillian Brennan, and Pittman each scored during the first seven minutes of the contest before Pittman's second goal of the afternoon made the game a 5-4 battle after 15 minutes.
The Diplomats took the lead for good as Pittman's goal started an eventual 5-0 run that that saw F&M score 15 of the game's next 17 goals to go up by as many as 11 early in the fourth quarter. Cassilly had two more goals during the initial 5-0 run, with Lambeth and Kate McLam eventually making the score 8-5.
The Profs got back into the game with back-to-back tallies which set the score at 8-7, but any further thoughts of a comeback were thwarted following F&M's 10 consecutive goals. Cassilly scored her final three goals of the afternoon during that stretch, with Lambeth and Madison Bray also scoring twice during that stretch. Adde Hollander and Amelia McCarthy closed that 10-0 run before Rowan got its deficit back to single digits at 18-11.
Franklin & Marshall finished the game on high note by scoring three of the final four goals as Liv Cooper, Sarah Bowyer, and Myranda Beebe tallied during the final five-plus minutes of regulation time in the eventual 21-12 final. F&M nearly doubled up Rowan in shots with a 45-23 advantage. Just days from breaking the school record for draw controls in a single game, Pittman added 11 more to record the third-highest total in school history. Five different players caused multiple turnovers as the Profs were held to 9-of-20 on their clearing attempts. Sophia Geibel and Bray shared the team in ground balls with four each. F&M's goalies split the halves in the crease as Alyssa Moran made three saves during the first half before Sara DiGiovanni stopped one more shot during the final 30 minutes.
Women's lacrosse will be back at home this coming Saturday when it resumes Centennial Conference play versus Washington College. That matchup is set for a 12 p.m. opening draw inside Shadek Stadium.
