LEXINGTON, Va. – The sixth-ranked Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team opened its season with a top-10 victory as the Diplomats defeated No. 9 Washington and Lee during their season opener by a 7-6 score. Alexandra Proefrock scored twice during the final 5:57 of game action to provide the difference as she scored her fourth quarter tallies off the feed from Devyn Crone.
Proefrock's two goals made her the only multi-goal scorer for the Diplomats in the defensive battle. Crone's assists gave her four on the afternoon to lead the team in total points. Defensively, Sara DiGiovanni picked up the win after stopping six of the 12 shots on goal she faced.
The defenses were sharp from the opening whistle as it took until their was 6:18 remaining in the opening quarter before W&L got on the board. F&M countered just over a minute later when Annie Marshall tallied the first goal of the season.
The Generals took a 4-1 lead with three goals in the span of just under five minutes early in the second period, but Blaine Cosby trimmed the lead to just 4-2 at the break. That goal started a 3-0 run in favor of the Diplomats to tie the game at four as Julia Carbon and Sophie Harris had the only two goals of the third quarter.
Franklin & Marshall never led until Proefrock's eventual game-winning goal as Lauren Pittman and Proefrock helped tie the game for the third and fourth times of the afternoon. With the score even at six-all, F&M was issued a green after the Generals secured the next draw control. As soon as the penalty expired, Sydney Birchard caused a turnover and the hosts were issued a pair of green cards in short order. Just 10 seconds after F&M had a two-player advantage, Proefrock made the Generals pay with her second goal in exactly two minutes time.
Both goalies made a save during the remaining time to keep the game at 7-6. W&L had the final two attempts at goal to try and tie the game, but a shot went wide and another was blocked in the finals seconds, allowing F&M to capture the 7-6 victory.
F&M had slight advantages in shots (25-20), shots on goal (14-11), ground balls (15-14), and draw controls (9-6). Carbon led the defense with three caused turnovers, while Birchard's key takeaway was her second of the afternoon. Seniors Pittman and Belle Dintino led the Diplomats with four and three draw controls, respectively.
With five straight road trips to start the season, the Diplomats return to action this coming Saturday, February 21 with a trip to No. 25 Scranton. Opening draw in that contest is set for 1 p.m.
