LANCASTER, Pa. – The No. 3-ranked Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team remained undefeated with a 13-11 victory over No. 6 Salisbury on Sunday afternoon. The Diplomats (8-0) have now won three straight in the series and did not trail except for a brief time during the opening quarter.
Lauren Pittman registered her 200th career point behind a four-goal effort as she became the 20th player in program history to accomplish that feat with her advantage goal during the fourth quarter to give F&M a 12-9 lead. She was one of four multi-goal scorers for the winning side, joining Myranda Beebe, Claire Book, and Lane Lambeth. F&M was very efficient with its shooting, scoring on 13 of its 18 shots on goal. On the other side of the field, Sara DiGiovanni was playing her best lacrosse down the stretch as she finished with 12 saves – including five during the final 15 minutes to lock down F&M's third top 10 win and fifth nationally-ranked win of the year.
The game got off to a quick start as Lydia Cassilly scored just 44 seconds into the contest. The Sea Gulls took their only lead of the afternoon with three consecutive goals, but Book and a pair of tallies from Lambeth to end the quarter marked the last time F&M would find itself behind all afternoon. Salisbury tied the game at five and six-all early in the second quarter. Beebe scored back-to-back goals to break up the Sea Gulls' goals.
Tied at six-all with 4:22 left in the opening half, the Diplomats embarked on a 5-0 run that spanned into the third quarter. Pittman scored three of F&M's goals during that span, with Alexandra Proefrock and Book aiding the run. Salisbury answered with three straight to make the score 11-9 with 8:34 to play in the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, Pittman made a little history on a free-position attempt before Megan Bizub added F&M's final goal of the day. Salisbury trimmed the lead down to 13-11 with just over two minutes to play, but DiGiovanni came up with two huge saves in the remaining time to deny any further thoughts of a comeback.
Goalie play proved huge in the final outcome as Salisbury finished with a 34-24 advantage in shots. Both teams finished the game with 14 draw controls. Belle Dintino was one of several defensive stars who stepped up during the crucial moments of Sunday's game as she finished with a team-best five draw controls and four ground balls.
Today's national showdown marked the first of four straight nationally-ranked matchups that the Diplomats will face at home through the opening weekend of April. Up next is an undefeated Colby (6-0) squad set for Wednesday, March 26 at 4:30 p.m. before F&M returns to Centennial Conference action by hosting Gettysburg and Haverford.
