YORK, Pa. – Blaine Cosby scored five goals during a top-10 national showdown as the Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team battled fifth-ranked York (Pa.) under the lights on Wednesday evening. Those five goals helped the Diplomats rally from an early 9-3 deficit against the undefeated Spartans before falling just one goal shy in the 12-11 final.

After Lauren Pittman cut the deficit to a single goal on a free-position attempt with 8:53 left in regulation time, the Diplomats had four more possessions to find the game-tying goal. However, the Spartans' defense came up big as a save and shot off the post stopped two free positions before a turnover and strong defensive close made that lone goal the difference.

The final stats proved indicative of the tightly contested game as F&M held the slimmest of margins in both shots (28-27) and shots on goal (20-19). Both teams collected 14 ground balls, with the Spartans causing one more turnover defensively (13-12). Sara DiGiovanni made saves on the night – including multiple key stops during the final period – to give her team a chance during the final minutes.

The major difference in Wednesday's national showdown was a 9-1 run from the Spartans that lasted nearly 20 minutes. F&M was leading 2-0 when Cosby and Myranda Beebe opened the scoring. However, York (Pa.) allowed just one goal to Alexandra Proefrock during that extended run as the Spartans' lead grew to 9-3. Cosby scored three times, with another from Julia Carbon, during the final three-plus minutes of the first half to set the score at 10-7 heading into the break.

The Spartans opened the scoring during the third quarter, but F&M had its own defensive stand during the second half as it allowed just two goals during the final 30 minutes. Devyn Crone was the Diplomats' second multi-goal scorer on Wednesday as her second goal at the 10:33 mark of the fourth quarter brought the game to 11-10. The two sides traded goals before York (Pa.) held on despite having two players sent off with cards during the final eight minutes.

Playing each of their top-ranked opponents close to start the season, the Diplomats will have a chance to get another signature win this Sunday when No. 1 Middlebury comes south from a neutral site game at Scranton. Opening draw in that contest is set for 1 p.m. on March 15.