HARTFORD, Conn. – The Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team saw 11 different players rattle the back of the cage as it defeated Neumann by a 21-4 score during the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Diplomats scored the first 10 goals of Saturday's opening round game and led by double digits the entire second half.
With the victory, F&M advances to Sunday's regional final where host Trinity (Conn.) awaits. The Bantams, who finished No. 9 in the final NCAA Power Index, had a first round bye on Saturday. That second round contest is set for a 1 p.m. start.
Devyn Crone, Annie Marshall, and Lauren Pittman all had hat tricks in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, with Crone's four tallies pacing the attack. Crone and Marshall also dished out three assists to lead the team in points. F&M finished the contest with a 47-19 advantage in shots and 33-9 edge in shots on goal.
Marshall scored her first goal of the day just over three minutes into the contest to start a 10-0 run that lasted until the 8:39 mark of the second quarter. Pittman added back-to-back goals, while Crone scored three times in a span of 2:42 to the early run. Rose Dunne, Alexandra Proefrock, and Svia Russman-Araya also contributed goals to the quick 10-0 advantage.
Neuman got the deficit back to single digits with three straight goals in just over three minutes, but the Knights would score just once more during the final 35-plus minutes of game action. Dunne, Pittman, and Sophie Harris got the lead back to 13-3 at the break, before Marshall capped her hat trick less than three minutes into the second half.
The Knights' only goal of the second half came at the 9:13 mark of the third quarter to make the score 14-4, but F&M would close on a 7-0 run. After Crone secured her team-leading fourth goal of the afternoon, Hope West, Sumi Heffernan (twice), Riley Ng-Knepper, Hope West, and Grace Kotchick add their names to the scoresheet. Kotchick's goal was the first of her collegiate career. Myranda Beebe (three assists), Siena Pitone, and Skylar Holmes also finished with points after setting up scores throughout the contest.
Sara DiGiovanni turned away four of the seven shots on goal she saw during the opening half before Rachel Jones took over and added one more save during the final 30 minutes. F&M caused over half of Neumann's 21 turnovers, with Dunne's three caused turnovers leading the way. Pittman led the team with four draw controls. Dunne and Pitone each collected a team-best four ground balls to help the Diplomats hold a 31-17 advantage in that category.
Sunday's 1 p.m. start against Trinity (Conn.) will be a rematch of the regular season contest where the two sides were close after 30 minutes, but the Bantams ran away in the second half for a 17-7 victory.
