LANCASTER, Pa. – Playing in a national showdown that featured a pair of teams who played in the NCAA Tournament Final Four a season ago, the No. 3 Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team (6-0) remained undefeated with a 10-8 victory against No. 7 William Smith (3-2). Although these two sides have met just seven times in program history, it was the Diplomats' first win in the series since the 2007 national championship season when current William Smith coach Anne Phillips '80 – who was one of the founding stars of the Diplomats' perennial national power – led her alma mater to its first national championship.
F&M now has four nationally-ranked wins, including a pair of victories against top 10 national opponents this spring. Alexandra Proefrock led the Diplomats with her first career hat trick on Monday afternoon, while Lane Lambeth and Lauren Pittman both scored a pair of goals. Reigning Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week Sara DiGiovanni once again starred in goal with 11 saves.
The only time either side held a multiple goal advantage prior to the Diplomats' scoring four straight in the second half was when William Smith took an early 4-2 lead. Lydia Cassilly's goal with 5:25 to play in the opening half tied the game at five after 30 minutes, with each of the Diplomats' multi-goal scorers aiding the attack during the first half.
Proefrock's second goal of the game gave F&M its first lead of the afternoon at 6-5 just under five minutes into the third quarter, but William Smith provided the answer 14 seconds later. However, the Diplomats reclaimed the lead on a goal from Lambeth with 3:44 to play in the third period before Gretta Harnish, Proefrock, and Megan Bizub added to the 4-0 run which made the 10-6 advantage the largest lead for either side on the afternoon.
William Smith got the game down to a two-goal deficit with 4:51 remaining in regulation, but DiGiovanni made four crucial saves during the final quarter to prevent the visitors from coming any closer. The F&M junior also limited William Smith to just a 2-for-5 day on free-position shots. Sophia Geibel led the defensive with three caused turnovers and was one of five Diplomats with multiple ground balls. Belle Dintino and Lambeth tied for the team lead with three draw controls each.
Women's lacrosse begins Centennial Conference play this Saturday, March 22 with a 1 p.m. opening draw against Swarthmore, just one day before hosting nationally-ranked Salisbury at 1 p.m. inside Shadek Stadium during the first of four consecutive home contests.
