SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The No. 3 Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team scored early and often during a 16-2 win at Swarthmore to start its Centennial Conference schedule. The Diplomats (7-0, 1-0 CC) scored the first four goals of the game and held their largest advantage at the final whistle while handing the Garnet (6-2, 0-1 CC) just their second defeat of the season.
Three of the Diplomats' returning All-Americans accounted for 13 of the 16 goals, led by Lauren Pittman's five-goal outing. Lydia Cassilly and Lane Lambeth each tallied four goals, with Devyn Crone (two goals) Myranda Beebe (one goal) adding to the winning margin. F&M scored those 16 goals on just 28 shots, while goalie Sara DiGiovanni stopped 12 of the 14 shots on goal that she faced.
All four Diplomats who registered multiple goals during the Centennial Conference opener finished with at least five points as they also set their teammates up for success. Pittman, who opened the scoring less than a minute into the contest, finished with a game-high nine points. The junior had her hat trick wrapped up just 70 seconds into the second half. Lambeth and Cassilly also finished their hat tricks during the third quarter.
Franklin & Marshall was able to finish the contest with its largest lead of the afternoon as it scored the final seven goals of the conference clash. The only goals that F&M conceded on the afternoon came with 17 seconds to play in the opening quarter and midway through the third.
The visitors owned a 14-6 advantage in draw controls as Julia Carbon led those efforts with six wins following restarts. F&M additionally held an 18-15 edge in ground balls, with Sydney Birchard, Mia Geignetter, Ellen Kelly, Lucy Rogers, and Lambeth each gaining the possession for their side on multiple occasions.
After starting the conference schedule with a victory, the Diplomats return home tomorrow for a 1 p.m. national showdown against No. 6 Salisbury. That contest will be the first of four consecutive nationally-ranked matchups inside Shadek Stadium during the next two weeks, with the first three of those dates being top 10 showdowns.
