Game Notes

Last Time Out

Franklin & Marshall is coming off of two consecutive victories in the same day as they defeated Rhodes and Shenandoah during the team's trip to Clearwater, Florida during the College's week of Spring Break. Sydney Lowe led the five F&M players who registered multiple goals during the 14-6 win versus Rhodes. She recorded a hat trick, while Maddy Birch, Lydia Cassilly, Gillian Brennan, and Abby Gravel also tallied multiple times throughout the winning effort. The Diplomats were up 8-2 at the half versus Rhodes before cruising to the 14-6 final. Alyssa Moran got the start in goal for the Diplomats and made six saves before Molly Donatelli went untested to close the contest.  Game ball winners for the Diplomats were Gravel - for her multi-goal outing - and Book - for tallying her first career goal.

Returning the field just a few hours after its first win of the day, F&M went into the halftime break up 9-6 against Shenandoah and added to that lead during the final 30 minutes in the eventual 15-10 final. First-year Lauren Pittman exploded for a season-high five goals in the second game, marking her third hat trick of the young season. After registering a hat trick of her own during the first game, Sydney Lowe added two more goals to finish with five on the day. Lane Lambeth was also a multi-goal scorer with two tallies, including one a free-position goal. Lydia Cassilly added yet another hat trick with three goals, while Maddy Birch added two.

The Diplomats begin Centennial Conference play as the seventh-ranked team in the IWLCA national polls.

Last Time vs.  Muhlenberg

Playing in Allentown when these teams met a year ago, the then-No. 2 Diplomats found themselves locked in a tough Centennial Conference battle. The Mules raced out to a 3-1 lead early, but the Diplomats countered with a huge 8-2 advantage during the second quarter before going on to claim a 16-10 road victory.

Sydney Lowe scored a game-high five goals, with Ally Marino adding four goals and two assists during the Centennial Conference contest. The top point producer was Lydia Cassilly as she also had a hat trick to go along with four helpers during her seven-point outing. Marissa McGarrey and Maddy Birch each produced multiple points to help F&M's efforts.

In the crease, Emily Kitchin hit another milestone as she made her 300th career save and finished the contest with seven saves in total. Kitchin additionally led the Diplomats with four ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. McGarrey matched Kitchin's team lead with four ground balls of her own as F&M finished the contest with an 18-16 edge in that category.

Muhlenberg Preview

Muhlenberg enters this game undefeated with wins during each of its seven non-conference matchups and will also be starting conference play on Saturday. The Mules are averaging 18 goals per game this year and have allowed just over six per contest. Muhlenberg's closest  matchup came during the season opener wheny they defeated Moravian by a 19-14 final. The Mules do no have any common opponents with the Diplomats during the non-conference portion of the season. Three Mules already have 20 goals on the season, led by Nicole Steiner's 26 tallies. Samantha Eynon and Ava Miller have each found the back of the cage 21 times. The top point producer has been Lily Seifert who has scored 12 times while dishing out 18 assists. As can be expected with their early success, the Mules have dominated the draw with a 121-70 edge, led by Emily Vaughan's 34 draw controls. Ellison Elliott has started all seven games in goal while the Mules backups have played in six and five games, respectively.