LANCASTER, Pa. – The No. 3 Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team advanced to the Elite 8 with a 14-11 win against No. 12 Roanoke on Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats (18-3) and Maroons (17-5) were tied on four occasions during their Sweet 16 matchup, including eight-all and 11-all deadlocks following the second and third quarters. Nevertheless, Franklin & Marshall stepped up defensively with a 3-0 fourth quarter to earn its advancement in the national tournament.
With the win, Franklin & Marshall advances to tomorrow's Elite 8 game where the Diplomats will play host to No. 4 Tufts after the Jumbos were a 22-13 winner over Denison who came into this weekend's action receiving votes in the national polls. The Diplomats – who are looking for the second consecutive Final Four appearance – are set for a 2:30 p.m. opening draw against Tufts.
Gillian Brennan led all F&M goal scorers with four goals on the afternoon while she also contributed one assist. Lydia Cassilly finished with a team-high six points as she contributed two goals and four assists to the winning effort, while Madison Bray, Lauren Pittman, and Claire Book gave the Diplomats five different multi-goal scorers.
The contest was a back-and-forth battle throughout much of the regulation time, with F&M holding a share of its largest lead at the final buzzer. The Diplomats matched that three-goal advantage early on by scoring five of the game's first seven goals. The first quarter featured a combined 13 goals between the two teams, with Pittman tallying twice in the first three-plus minutes before the Maroons got on the board. Cassilly answered Roanoke's first goal of the game with back-to-back goals of her own which came just 1:14 apart for the 4-1 advantage.
Brennan matched F&M's largest lead of the afternoon at 5-2 midway through the first quarter with her first of four goals on the afternoon, but Roanoke ran off five straight of its own to take its largest lead of the game, 7-5, with 1:55 to play in the opening period.
Franklin & Marshall took back the momentum beginning late in the first quarter when Lane Lambeth found the back of the cage just before the conclusion of the first period. Brennan and Kate McLam kept that run going early in the second quarter as the Diplomats would not trail the rest of the afternoon despite several challenges from the Maroons.
After 13 goals during the first 13 minutes, the two teams combined for just three goals during the second period as they went to the locker rooms tied at eight. The third period was a complete deadlock as each team scored three times. Brennan and Book got the home side in from to start the second half, with Brennan adding her fourth and final goal of the game with 5:34 to play in the third period. Undeterred, Roanoke scored twice in the final three-plus minutes of the third quarter to set up the thrilling finish.
The Diplomats held Roanoke scoreless over the final 15 minutes to take control of the game in that remaining time. That lockdown effort was aided by F&M holding the Maroons to 3-of-8 on the clear during that final period, while Alyssa Moran came up with three huge saves during that time. F&M needed just seven shots in the final 15 minutes, as it scored on five of its shots on goal, to solidify its advancement in the NCAA Tournament.
Bray certainly filled the role of late game heroics for the Diplomats as her two goals came in the final 15 minutes, with Book adding her second of the day in between those tallies. With 15 cards issued between the two team teams, F&M had a 2-1 advantage in woman-up goals and also held a 3-2 edge in free-position goals.
The Diplomats dominated the ground ball battle with a 16-7 edge, while Roanoke held the edge in draw controls by a 16-12 margin. However, the draw control momentum leaned in F&M's favor during the final 30 minutes as it won eight of the last 13 after the Maroons won 13 of 17 restarts during the first half. Sarah Bowyer played a huge part in that turnaround as she won five draw controls, while Pittman added three more draw victories in the circle. Belle Dintino was instrumental in the Diplomats' defensive efforts as she caused four turnovers during the victory, while both goalies finished the contest with eight saves.
Franklin & Marshall will be making its 24th appearance all-time in the national quarterfinals when the Diplomats host Tufts on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Twenty-one of those 24 appearances have come in the NCAA Tournament era after they previously competed in AIAW national tournament. When the Diplomats hit the field in the top-four showdown against their NESCAC foes, F&M will be looking for its first back-to-back appearances in the Elite 8 since the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and the program's 12 appearance in the Final Four all-time (10th of the NCAA era.)
