LANCASTER, Pa. – The No. 4 Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team had two different 7-0 runs and scored 14 of 15 goals at one point during a dominant 14-5 Centennial Conference Tournament semifinal win against No. 23 Haverford. Following Friday's strong showing, the Diplomats are headed back to the Centennial Conference Championship game where they will play Gettysburg at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Lydia Cassilly and Lauren Pittman each scored four goals for the Diplomats. Equally impressive was the defensive effort which held the Fords to just 21 shots. Alyssa Moran came up huge in the cage for the Diplomats as she stopped 11 of the 14 shots she faced, highlighted by a stretch where Haverford scored just once in over 55 minutes of live action.
The Fords got the first two goals of the game just over two minutes into the game. However, they would score just once more before the final 2:25 of regulation. During that time of F&M's defensive lockdown, the Diplomats' first 7-0 run saw them carry a 7-3 lead into the half. Pittman scored four times during the first Franklin & Marshall run, with Lydia Cassilly and Gillian Brennan also getting into the offensive act. Haverford scored its only goal in that 55-minute stretch right before the half.
Franklin & Marshall went right back to work on the attack out of the break with the only five goals of the third quarter. The Diplomats' lead grew all the way 14-3 late in the fourth quarter before the visitors tallied the final two goals of the evening. Devyn Crone, Lane Lambeth, Kate McLam, and Adde Hollander all added their names to the scoresheet during F&M's 7-0 second half run.
The Diplomats finished the contest with a 32-21 advantage in shots. They also picked up a huge possession advantage with a 16-6 edge in draw controls. Belle Dintino and Pittman each registered six draw controls to lead that effort. Dintino additionally caused two turnovers to aid the defensive effort.
F&M enters Sunday's Centennial Conference Championship as the defending conference champions following last year's victory against the Bullets which was the team's eighth Centennial Conference Tournament Championship and ninth CC title overall. The winner of Sunday's Centennial Conference Championship game will earn an automatic qualification spot to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
