Game Notes

Last Time Out

F&M earned its spot in the 2023 NCAA Tournament after earning the automatic qualifier by winning the Centennial Conference Championship. The Diplomats won their ninth Centennial Conference Championship with a thrilling 15-14 win at Gettysburg. All nine of F&M's Centennial Conference Championships have come since the 2007 season, including two of the past three years. Gillian Brennan was named the Centennial Conference Tournament MVP as she scored four goals and assisted on two more during the championship game, with her efforts being aided by hat tricks from Lydia Cassilly and Lauren Pittman. Seven different players in total scored during the win as F&M used a 7-3 fourth quarter advantage to complete the thrilling come-from-behind win in which they did not lead until the 9:51 mark of the fourth quarter.

Franklin & Marshall quickly closed that remaining gap with a four-goal surge to start the fourth quarter. Cassilly opened the scoring during the final period with her goal at the 13:34 before Brennan scored just 14 seconds later to bring her team within a single goal. The Cassilly-Brennan scoring combination continued to work as Cassilly knotted the game at 11-all with 11:16 in regulation before Brennan gave F&M its first lead of the day, 12-11, with 9:51 to play following her free-position shot. The Bullets were not going to go away without a fight on their home field as they scored three of the next four goals and were holding a 14-13 advantage after a goal at the 5:24 mark. Things certainly were not made easier on the Diplomats when they were issued a green card and yellow card in short order, but that made little difference to Brennan as she tied the game at 14-all with 3:06 left in regulation despite Franklin & Marshall having one less field player.

Gettysburg won the ensuing draw, but goalie Alyssa Moran came up huge with one of her nine saves on the afternoon to gain the possession back. Despite losing the ball in transition, Belle Dintino restored order with a caused turnover that came with just two minutes to play before Pittman scored the eventual game-winning goal with 1:04 showing on the clock. Franklin & Marshall was forced to play defense again as the Bullets gained control off the draw, but one final save from Moran with five seconds left in regulation time let the celebration ensue inside her own circle as the Diplomats put the finishing touches on the 15-14 championship victory.

Last Time vs. Roanoke

Franklin & Marshall reeled off 11 unanswered goals to cruise to a 13-2 win over Roanoke in the second round of the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championships Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats (18-0) held the Maroons (15-4) scoreless for the first 48:54 of the contest, and outshot their guests 33-14. The victory earned F&M the right to face the winner of this afternoon's meeting between Mary Washington and Babson tomorrow afternoon. After the conclusion of this game, the Diplomats would eventually go on to win the program's first-ever national championship.

Shannon Summers second goal of the afternoon came with 21:09 showing in the first half. It stood up as the game-winner. She got the Diplomats on the board in the game's third minute, and finished her hat trick in the second half. Jen Pritchard's free position goal at 24:01 broke up Summers' pair. It was the first of five goals for Pritchard on the day. She reeled off four straight around the halftime break to make a 7-0 game an 11-0 contest. F&M made good on five of its nine free position shots in the game. Sarah Meisenberg scored on back-to-back eight-meter shots 1:19 apart late in the second half.

Making her first start of the season, Brenna Dolphin scored a pair of goals and assisted on Beverly Menghetti's second goal of the year in the game's waning minutes. Lidia Sanza made five saves and allowed one goal in just under 49 minutes of work. Chelsea Meerbach worked the dividend allowing one goal and making one stop. The two Maroon goals matches the lowest total of offensive production an opponent has managed against F&M this season. The Diplomats held Bryn Mawr to a pair back on April 14.

Last Time vs. Bryn Athyn

Should the Lions advance to Sunday's Round of 32 contest, it would be the first-ever meeting in program history between the Bryn Athyn and Franklin & Marshall. Bryn Athyn is facing Roanoke for the second consecutive NCAA Tournament, falling to the Maroons 24-3 when these teams met a season ago.

Roanoke Preview

Roanoke enters the game as the No. 16-ranked squad in the latest IWLCA Top 25 poll after finishing runner-up to Washington and Lee in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship game but earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. These two teams have two common opponents on the year in Washington and Lee and Shenandoah, with the Maroons meeting both of those squads twice including conference tournament match-ups. Both sides were victorious against Shenandoah but fell to Washington and Lee during the earlier matchups this year. Lilly Blair led seven Maroons on the 2023 All-ODAC teams. Blair was named the 2023 ODAC/VA Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the second consecutive year she has won the top academic award in women's lacrosse in the conference. The first-team All-ODAC performer finished sixth in the conference in points with 75 (47g, 28a). She also tallied 67 draw control wins and 25 ground balls. Joining Blair on First Team All-ODAC are Libby Bowman, Sophia Chickering, Natalie Mason, and Addison Schmidt. Bowman added 72 points, including a team-high 54 goals.  Grace Koutouzis and Sydney Harrison were both named second-team All-ODAC selections. As a team, Roanoke has dominated the draw controls with a 256-191 advantage on the year. Chickering, the team's goalie, is allowing just 7.79 goals per game and stopping nearly 49% of the shots that she has faced.

Bryn Athyn Preview

Bryn Athyn is making back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances after a 10-8 victory over Wilson College during the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championship game. The Lions have won seven consecutive games entering this weekend's tournament. Bryn Athyn was well-represented on the All-CSAC selections with seven all-conference performers, including the CSAC Player of the Year, CSAC Rookie of the Year, and CSAC Coach of the Year. Midfielder Shea Gormley was named player of the year after finishing first in the CSAC with 4.08 goals per game, ranking second with 53 total goals. Sabrina Brock was honored as rookie of the year, finishing second in the league in total points (65) and points per game (5.00), additionally leading the CSAC with 32 assists. Head coach Ramona Walters was named the CSAC Coach of the Year for the first time in her career after joining the Lions in the fall of 2021. Chloe Monyan has been the only goalie to see time for the Lions and is stopping 49.3% of the shots on goal she has faced while allowing just six goals per game. Bryn Athyn holds substantial leads over their opponents in scoring (176-73), ground balls 307-201), caused turnovers (150-121), and draw controls (159-132).

F&M All-Centennial Conference Performers

First-team
Maddy Birch: Birch is third on the team in goals (35), assists (17), and points (52), earning first-team honors for the first time during her career.
Lydia Cassilly: Notched her second straight first-team honors after being named CC Rookie of the Year in 2022. Cassilly leads F&M in goals (44) and points (60).
Lane Lambeth: Ranks second on the team in draw controls (37), adding 33 goals, 22 ground balls, and 12 caused turnovers this spring.
Belle Dintino: First-team All-CC as a first-year. She leads the Diplomats in caused turnovers (25) and ground balls (35).

Second-team
Madison Bray: Second straight all-conference season. Bray leads F&M with 68 draw controls while ranking second in assists.

Honorable mention
Gillian Brennan: The Centennial Conference Tournament MVP ranks second on the team with 20 assists. She scored four times in the championship victory.
Lauren Pittman: All-CC as a first-year after scoring 43 goals and registering 57 points. She also has 14 assists, 16 ground balls, and seven caused turnovers.

Franklin & Marshall Ranks in Division III as a team
39. Clearing Percentage (85.0%)
47. Assists Per Game (6.79)
52. Scoring margin (+5.42)
52. Points per game (21.37)
55. Scoring defense (9.16)
62. Scoring offense (14.58)