LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 with a 15-11 win over Messiah on Sunday afternoon. The Diplomats (18-2) started strong and finished strong while surviving some challenges in the middle from the Falcons to guarantee themselves at least one more weekend of lacrosse.
With the win, the Diplomats will next play Denison this coming Saturday while Gettysburg and Washington and Lee sit on the opposite side of F&M's pod. Times and locations of next weekend's Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games will be announced later this evening, but the Diplomats are the top seed in their quadrant of the bracket.
Senior Lydia Cassilly led F&M with five goals and one assist, with first-year Annie Marshall contributing the first hat trick of her career in a very timely manner. Claire Book added two more goals to the winning effort as eight different Diplomats found their way onto the scoresheet.
Cassilly spearheaded the strong start as she had a hat trick just over three minutes into the contest. After setting up the third goal of the day, Lane Lambeth made it 4-0 just 3:58 into regulation time. The Falcons scored three straight to make it 4-3, but a timeout from the Diplomats helped to restore order as the hosts scored four in a row and were holding an 8-5 lead at the half. Pittman, Marshall, Book, and Cassilly provided the offense during the second quarter.
Despite an Adde Hollander goal to start the third quarter, the Falcons tied the game at nine-all with 5:10 to play in the third quarter after a 4-0 run. That prompted another F&M timeout and once again the team responded as Alexandra Proefrock, Devyn Crone, and Marshall gave their team a 12-9 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, the run did not stop there as Cassilly, Book, and Marshall continued to pace the attack while the Diplomats lead grew to a game-high 15-9 advantage before the Falcons had the final two goals of regulation.
Draw controls were a stat heavily controlled by F&M as it held a 19-11 edge in that category. Julia Carbon (eight DCs) and Pittman (six DCs) highlighted those efforts. The Diplomats held a slight 33-32 advantage in shots, but 12 saves from Sara DiGIovanni proved critical as she turned away multiple shots during each period. F&M also held a 17-13 edge in ground balls, with three GBs from Ellen Kelly leading the way.
Franklin & Marshall will be playing its 18th Sweet 16 game in program history next Saturday when the team returns to action. This year's senior class has advanced to at least the Sweet 16 during each of its four seasons. The Diplomats last played Denison in the NCAA Tournament during a 2023 Sweet 16 matchup that finished in a 15-6 final in favor of F&M.
